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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23347225">All in My Head</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stars_n_planets91/pseuds/Stars_n_planets91'>Stars_n_planets91</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Pepper Potts, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Harley Keener &amp; Peter Parker Friendship, Harley Keener &amp; Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, He lost an arm though, Kid Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Not biological though, Peter Parker &amp; Morgan Stark Friendship (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker is Trying His Best, Peter Parker is a Mess, Peter Parker-centric, Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Protective Harley Keener, Sarcasm, Stressed Peter Parker, Summer Vacation, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is alive</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:20:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>69,258</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23347225</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stars_n_planets91/pseuds/Stars_n_planets91</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Are we good? Do you want to talk about anything, cause it’s been…a little awkward and I—” Peter interrupted Tony’s rambling.<br/>“We’re good Tony.” Peter lied.<br/>“Are you sure?”<br/>“100 percent.”<br/>“Ok, well. Goodnight. Love you.”<br/>“Night, Tony. Love you too.” With that, Peter made his escape.<br/>Afterall. The first step to being normal, was acting normal.<br/>Right?</p><p> </p><p>Or an AU where: Tony survives, and Tony, Pepper, Harley, Peter, and Morgon go on a summer vacation. Peter struggles to figure out where he belongs within all the changes, Harley is as sarcastic as ever, and Parker luck has never been...well...Parker luck is still Parker luck...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harley Keener &amp; May Parker &amp; Peter Parker &amp; Pepper Potts, Harley Keener &amp; Pepper Potts, Harley Keener &amp; Peter Parker, Harley Keener &amp; Peter Parker &amp; Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Harley Keener &amp; Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker &amp; Pepper Potts, Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>366</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>             May Parker was a smart woman. And not just book smart either, she was street smart as well as extremely perceptive. Which is why after the “blip”, she could tell Peter was off in a big way. He was more distant, quiet. It was weird for May. She wasn’t used to a quiet Peter, and it made her extremely uneasy. She couldn’t really blame him after all the crap he’d been through though, first going to space and trying to take down Thanos, then being dusted for five years, and after that, being thrown into another fight with Thanos and watching yet another father figure almost die. Almost. Then, the olive in the Trauma martini, he still had to deal with all the changes that took place while he was gone. Couldn’t really be easy to come back after the world has moved on without you. She had her own struggles with that. Which made what she was trying to do even more important. She had a plan, a very good plan in her opinion, but she had to run it by a couple more people before it could be enacted. Which is why she was getting coffee with Helen Keener, and Pepper Potts on one very warm, smoggy summer day in Manhattan, New York.</p>
<p>            The café where they had chosen to meet up was a hole in the wall place called “The Greenhouse.” There were large picture windows and it was a very bright, upbeat location. May walked in at 1:00 on the dot. Pepper had already arrived and chosen a far corner booth. May started to walk over to the table. Pepper was wearing a bright blue T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a wide smile when she saw May. Pepper stood up and gave May a hug.</p>
<p>            “Hey May, how have things been? It’s been a minute, huh?” She spoke in a relaxed manner that masked the slight sound of tiredness in her voice.</p>
<p>            “Pepper! It has definitely been a minute. Things are…so-so. How about you? How’s Tony?” May and Pepper both sat down. Pepper looked a little sadly at May.</p>
<p>            “He’s coping pretty well with everything. He’s made four prosthetic arms already,” Pepper rolled her eyes and May chuckled, “but he’s a little stressed still. He misses Peter. How is Peter, by the way? I texted him last week and he left me on read,” Pepper sounded a little hurt about her last statement. May looked apologetic.</p>
<p>            “He’s been a little off since…well since everything happened with Tony and…all that. I’m sure he just forgot to text back,” Pepper nodded, though neither May nor her really believed it. They shared a sympathetic look.</p>
<p>            “Ahh! Sorry I’m late! I got lost!” The unmistakable southern drawl of Helen Keener filled the café. The slender blond power walked over to the table and squeezed into the booth with Pepper. May and Pepper were quick to assure her it was completely fine.</p>
<p>            “Well, I really can’t make heads or tails of the subway system! I haven’t been to New York since I was 16! By the way, thank you so much for flying Harley and me out here, Pepp. I’m sure Jules would have come out too, if she wasn’t already headed to Montana with her girlfriends.” Helen said in one breath, smoothing down her pink, floral dress.</p>
<p>            “Tony and I were more than happy to, especially Tony. He was depressed that Harley and Peter <em>actually</em> had to go to school this semester,” Pepper joked. Helen smiled. “How’s Harley doing?” Pepper asked. Helen gave her and May a tight smile.</p>
<p>            “He’s been better. I mean, his little sister is going to college next year and he still has another year of high school to finish. Plus, there’s the whole being gone for five years and whatever else. He’s definitely been better, but I guess we all have,” She finished, picking up a menu to look through it.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I guess we have. At least him and Peter are keeping in touch though,” May said.</p>
<p>            “I don’t think Harley would have been able to process everything without y’all, honestly, especially Peter and Pepp,” The three women nodded in agreement. May decided now was as good a time as any to pitch her idea.</p>
<p>            “Well, I’ve been mulling something over the last few weeks, and I think it would be really good for everyone,” Pepper and Helen looked inquisitive, but didn’t say anything. May continued.</p>
<p>            “I think it would be great if our boys could spend the summer together. Reconnect with each other. Just. After everything they’ve all been through, I think they need each other, ya know?” May asked, looking at the other two women. Pepper spoke up first.</p>
<p>            “I think that’s a great idea. Tony and I have been thinking about doing something like that too. We all need to reconnect. We were thinking maybe a road trip to South Carolina, then stay down there till a couple of weeks before school started in August. I was actually going to talk to you two about it today,” She smiled big. May did too.</p>
<p>            “I think that would be awesome. When were you guys thinking of leaving?” May was relieved that Pepper had the same type of idea.</p>
<p>            “Memorial Day weekend? If that works for everyone?” Pepper asked, looking at Helen and May. Helen bit her nails nervously, frowning.</p>
<p>            “Well, I can’t take three months off of work, unfortunately,” Helen said apologetically.</p>
<p>            “I couldn’t either…” May said, heart sinking. Then Helen spoke up again.</p>
<p>            “Well I couldn’t, but I think it would be silly for my work schedule to keep Harls from going. I want to see him happy again, and I think that this sounds like a great idea. Maybe me and Jules can come out for the 4<sup>th</sup> of July or something,” Helen said thoughtfully, fidgeting with the menu. May's heart returned to its usual place in her chest once again.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, that would work. I can come out then too. So, you and Tony, Harley, Peter, and Morgan can go for the whole summer!” May beamed. So did Helen and Pepper.</p>
<p>            “Alright! I’ll finish making the arrangements then and we’ll take a road trip down to South Carolina In a couple of weeks, and since you and Harley are out here already Harley can just stay with us till we leave, if that’s okay with you Helen,”</p>
<p>            “That sounds perfect! Meanwhile, I’m starving, and I’m dying to take a look around New York while I’m here!” They all laughed and decided to make the most of a rare afternoon of fun. May was extremely excited for them. Maybe Peter would finally get back to normal.</p><hr/>
<p>            Tall trees and grass rolled past the windows of the blue Volkswagen Atlas that Peter, the Starks and Harley were riding in. It was early afternoon, and they still had about four hours left in their eleven-hour drive to Georgetown, South Carolina. Peter leaned his head up against the cool car window. He wasn’t honestly sure how exactly he felt about this summer vacation with Tony and everyone. It wasn’t that he wasn’t excited to be with them, he really was. It’s just it was hard to be around them. They had all moved on, except Harley who also got blipped, and Peter was still stuck five years in the past. He was reminded of that fact almost immediately when Morgan poked his shoulder from her booster seat in the middle. He pulled out his right earbud and looked at Morgan questioningly.</p>
<p>            “Look at this <em>awesome </em>picture!” Morgan said excitedly stabbing her finger at a picture in her “Robots” edition of her National Geographic kids’ magazine. It was a little white robot that was dancing, presumably. Morgan was beaming about it. “I want to build one of those!” She yelled. Peter winced slightly. His hearing was enhanced, and Morgan was sitting pretty close.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, that looks super neat kiddo.” Peter smiled. He put his earbud back in and leaned on the window again. Morgan looked a little disappointed, obviously expecting a more stimulating conversation then “oh, that’s neat”. Harley noticed Peter and rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>            “Can I see the picture, Mo?” Harley asked. Morgan lit up. Harley and Morgan started to have a riveting conversation about if it would be cooler if the robot was green or blue.</p>
<p>            Peter didn’t understand how easy it was for Harley to act normal. Peter was still trying to process how Tony and Pepper had gotten married AND had a kid all in the time he was gone. Now don’t get him wrong, he loved Morgan. She was adorable and smart, and really a great kid. But…he couldn’t shake the feeling that Tony and Pepper just replaced him and Harley. It was just so weird to be gone for five years and have everyone living without him. Which is why he wasn’t sure if he could just pretend nothing changed this summer. At least not without him being miserable. Which just made everything that much worse, because he <em>did</em> miss Tony. He missed Pepper. But it was all…different.</p>
<p>            His melancholic musings were interrupted by a <em>ding</em> that paused his music. He checked his phone. It was a text from Harley. Harley had seriously just texted him from three feet to his right. He looked at Harley who was still talking to Morgan, obviously ignoring Peter's look. Peter opened his phone to read the text message.</p>
<p>            <strong>Harley: Soooo I get you’ve got a whole music video “staring out the window sadly” vibe going, but ummm, you’ve been ignoring everyone for six hours and I’m getting tired of cutting through the tension with Tony and Pepper with my, no doubt, fabulous sarcasm, and answering questions directed to YOU. Everyone has their limit, Parker, and I’m there</strong></p>
<p>Peter rolled his eyes at Harley's text. It wasn’t that tense.</p>
<p>            He was lying to himself. It was <em>extremely </em>tense.</p>
<p>            <strong>Peter: I’m not ignoring everyone, you drama queen, I just talked to Morgan. </strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>            Harley: Oh yeah! That makes six words in six hours! Congratulations! You’ve won the #1 chatterbox award!</strong>
</p>
<p>Harley gave peter a “bitch, please” look when Peter glared at him. He then looked from Peter to Tony in the front passenger seat, back to Peter then back at Tony again and raised his eyebrows. And at that moment, if his five-year-old honorary sister wasn’t sitting between him and Harley, he would have flipped him off. Peter yanked his earbuds out and sighed internally. Then he shot Harley a quick text.</p>
<p>            <strong>Peter: If this gets awkward, I’m blaming you.</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>            Harley: I wouldn’t have it any other way</strong>
</p>
<p>            Peter rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time. And then he cleared his throat and talked for the first time since they started this road trip.</p>
<p>            “So, um,” Peter struggled for anything to say. “Are we, uh, on the beach in Georgetown?” He asked Tony, forcing a smile. Tony looked like Peter had handed him a billion dollars on a solid gold, gem-encrusted plate. Tony smiled softly.</p>
<p>            “Uh yeah, kid. Couple miles out from the town in this old beach house. It’s going to be a lot of fun, I think. You and Harley will have to share a room though, it’s a little small,” Peter just nodded and mumbled some resemblance of an affirmative. Harley, just glad that Peter said <em>something</em>, decided to help this depressing excuse for a conversation.</p>
<p>            “I have to share a room with the sleep talker? I’m not gonna get a single night’s sleep.” He sounded dramatic and long-suffering which he added to by putting the back of his hand on his forehead like a lady fainting in an old movie. Peter rolled his eyes <em>again</em> and countered.</p>
<p>            “Oh whatever, I’m not nearly as bad as you! At least I don’t slip into an awful thick southern accent and talk about how cactuses must get sad in the winter like you did that one time!” Peter raised his eyebrows, referring to an incident from a year ago—or well, six years ago now. Six years. That had happened six years ago. Peter slid back into his gloomy thoughts of the past and present. Harley didn’t notice Peter’s sudden change of attitude and pressed on.</p>
<p>            “Hey, that thick southern accent is a part of my identity and I think I’ll just start using it for the rest of the trip. My good old Tennessee accent hasn’t been aired out for a while,” He ended his sentence with his thick drawl. The tension broke, but only for a moment when laughter filled the car. It came rushing back into the air when Peter just chuckled a little and put his headphones back in. Harley closed his eyes and hit his head on the back of his seat when he noticed they lost him again. Damn. Tony just sort of sighed and went back to scrolling through his tablet.  </p>
<p>            Peter was quiet for the rest of the trip, except for during the one convenience store stop they made, where he asked Harley to get him an apple and kiwi Red Bull, to which Harley just sighed, and said, “That makes twelve words in eight hours…” to which Peter’s only response was an eye-roll. Peter got his Red Bull, Morgan got her gummy bears, and Harley got his Twix. Pepper and Tony switched drivers, and they were back on the road again.</p>
<p>            A couple of hours later, when it was close to 4:30pm, they drove up to the house they were renting for the summer. They drove down a long gravel driveway up to a two-story yellow house with a wraparound porch and enormous windows. A large leafy fig tree grew tall in front of the house. The paint was chipping away, and the stairs were crooked, but it looked homey and relaxing, such a stark difference to New York with its sleek, tall buildings that only promised people in a rush. Tony parked the car in front of the house and turned in his seat.</p>
<p>            “Okay, guys we’re here! Pete? You in the building?” Tony asked when Peter didn’t take out his earbuds. Peter sighed and nodded as he took out his earbuds. Tony blinked, obviously hoping for some other response. When it was obvious he wasn’t getting anything more out of Peter, he pressed on.</p>
<p>            “Mmm’kay, Mo, what do you think so far?” Tony asked.</p>
<p>            “I want to go to the beach and catch a seagull!” Morgan said, hysterically, hastily shoving her magazines and coloring into her pink backpack.</p>
<p>            “That sounds like a great time Mo, how about you Harley, thoughts?”</p>
<p>            “If a panda gets on a train, does it make it a panda express?” Harley asked blankly. Peter snickered, mildly amused and Tony looked confused. Pepper just shook her head.</p>
<p>            “What? You asked me my thoughts, that’s my thoughts.” Harley shrugged. Tony looked at Morgan.</p>
<p>            “Morgan, you are the only normal child I’ve got,” Morgan smiled mischievously. Peter shook his head derisively and got out of the car.</p>
<p>            After Peter, they all tumbled out of the stuffed car and stretched their legs. It was almost stiflingly hot, and decidedly more humid then New York. The smell of salt and the sound of seagulls filled their senses and washed over them. Morgan ran around like a crazy person, brown hair flapping in the breeze. Peter stretched his arms and decided to grab his suitcase from the car so he could go change into some shorts or something because he was certain he was about to die of heat stroke. He walked over to the trunk to open it and while everyone else was stretching and enjoying the sunshine, Tony came around the back of the car too.</p>
<p>            “Hey kid, how’s it going?” Tony said, casually. Peter looked at Tony, which turned out to be a mistake because the sun was glaring off Tony’s metallic arm. Peter shielded his eyes.</p>
<p>            “Good. It’s hot,” Peter said, stating the obvious.</p>
<p>            “Um, it’s summer in South Carolina, so yeah,” Tony said, with humor in his voice, and a grin on his face. Peter just snickered as he opened the trunk. Before Peter had the chance to pick up a bag, Tony pulled him into a hug. Peter was a little taken aback, but nonetheless, hugged him back.</p>
<p>            “I missed you, kid. A lot. I think this summer is gonna be good for us,” Peter pulled away. Tony let his arms drop.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, yeah, it should be good. Missed you too,” Peter said, smiling slightly as he picked up his bag and walked towards the house without another word, leaving Tony frustrated and wondering what to do.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>             Peter walked up the crooked stairs of the yellow beach house he was staying in for the summer and tried the door. It was locked. He turned towards the rest of his cohorts, who were still stretching and, in Morgan’s case, running around.</p>
<p>            “The door’s locked,” He called to Pepper. She looked up from the conversation she was having with Harley.</p>
<p>            “Oh yeah, here ya go,” Pepper said, tossing the house keys to Peter who caught them with ease. He quickly found the one labeled “FRONT DOOR” and unlocked it. He opened the door, grabbed his suitcase and walked into a hallway directly in front of some stairs. To his left, the hallway branched into a small kitchen with white appliances and a battered table with mismatched chairs. To his right, it branched into a cozy living room, with a large, blue, overstuffed couch, two brown easy chairs and a cabinet with an old TV sitting on top. A sliding door on the back wall led to a patio that was only a few feet away from the beach. Peter switched on the stairway light and headed upstairs to what he assumed were the bedrooms.</p>
<p>            When he reached the top of the stairs, he was met with two doors to his left and a hallway to the right. He tried one of the doors on his left and found a room with two twin beds, so he figured this was his and Harley’s room. He walked in and heaved his suitcase on the bed directly under a large picture window. He sat down next to it and looked around the room.</p>
<p>            It was painted a calming, light green color and had blue and white striped curtains on the window. The beds had plain, crème, colored quilts and a large dresser stood between them accompanied by a small lamp. By this time, he could hear everyone clomping through the door downstairs to check out their new accommodations. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. Then he stood up and started pulling various items out of his suitcase. Peter had started to zone out while he unpacked when he realized it had gotten really quiet downstairs. Almost immediately after this realization, Harley swung the door open and closed it abruptly, barring the entry with his body as if he was trying to keep zombies out. Harley then smiled, slyly.</p>
<p>            “Well, Peter. I convinced Pepper and Tony to take Morgan on a walk down the beach. Well, to be honest Morgan did most of the convincing, but that’s not the point, the point is their gone, and we can finally have a conversation about what’s <em>actually </em>going on, in real life rather than in text.” Harley then crossed his arms and stared expectantly at Peter. Peter blinked three times.</p>
<p>            “What do you mean talk about what’s <em>actually</em> going on, there’s nothing going on,” Peter said in a carefully blank voice. Harley had the gall to break out in laughter. When he had calmed down slightly, and keep in mind, only <em>slightly</em>, he spoke again.</p>
<p>            “Peter. You can’t bullshit me. That’s advanced shit, that I have yet to see anyone pull off, let alone you. So.” Harley clapped his hands together and walked to the bed Peter wasn’t occupying and sat down. “Real talk. Why’re you acting so squirrely?” He leaned forward to rest his elbow on his knee and in turn, rest his chin his hand. His brown curls settled directly over his right eye, as he waited for a response. Peter blinked again.</p>
<p>            “Are you serious?”</p>
<p>            “I’m always serious—” Harley was cut off by a snort from Peter. “but I’m especially serious right now.” Peter sighed and sat down on his bed, directly across from Harley.</p>
<p>            “It’s awkward.”</p>
<p>            “Why?”</p>
<p>            Peter laughed, but the laugh held no humor. It was dry and empty, like a well on top of a hill that had been long forgotten.</p>
<p>            “Do I actually need to answer that? I was gone for five years!” Peter threw up his hands in frustration. “I feel like a stranger! I feel like Tony and Pepper completely left me in the dust, literally, and figuratively, and I don’t even feel like I belong on this trip! I’m completely out of my element, and just, ugh!” Peter stood up to pace. Harley just stared at him through the curtain of curls covering half his face, chin still resting on his hand.</p>
<p>            “Peter, I don’t mean to come off as insensitive, but umm, what exactly did you want them to do? Just. Stop living?” Harley asked, completely calm, sounding genuinely curious. Peter sighed in frustration, pacing faster.</p>
<p>            “No! I don’t want that either, I just! I don’t know! It’s all wrong, and you’re acting like everything’s normal, everyone’s acting like this is normal, and it’s <em>not</em>. It’s not!” Harley rolled his eyes and stood up to look Peter in the eyes.</p>
<p>            “Do you seriously think you’re the only one that this is weird for? Seriously? Because if so, that’s ridiculously self-centered. You know what I came back to Peter? A little sister who’s now the same freaking age as me, that’s what I came back to. I left a 13-year-old little sister behind and I come back and she’s 18, and she’s going to Knoxville for college next year for an architecture degree, while I still have a year of high school left! You think this isn’t weird for <em>me</em>? News flash Parker, it is!”</p>
<p>            Peter had stopped pacing and was looking at Harley. The silence was just a few seconds too long, and the tension was thick. Harley rubbed his face in frustration, and then let his hands drop.</p>
<p>            “Look, Peter. I’m not saying your feelings aren’t “valid” or whatever, I’m just saying that I get it, ok? It is weird. It’s weird for me, I’m just trying to make it a little bit easier for everyone to get back to normal by pretending it is. It isn’t normal, you’re right. But this is our new normal. You can’t fault anyone for moving on. That’s like saying my little sister, Jules, shouldn’t have finished high school without me, ya know? You can’t blame them for still living,” Harley finished, emphasizing his last sentence. Peter collapsed on his bed in frustration, sending several piles of clothing to the floor.</p>
<p>            “You think I don’t know that, Harley? You think I don’t get it? I do, and that’s probably the worst part. Because I want to be happy for everyone! I want to be normal; I don’t want to feel awkward around Tony. But I DO. That’s not something I can just turn off!” Peter tugged at his hair and looked close to tears. Harley sighed and sat down next to Peter. He threw his arm around him.</p>
<p>            “I know. Its…It’s messed up on so many different levels. And, to be honest it is probably harder for you. You’re the one that was on the front lines, you’re the one that watched Tony…well…you know.” Harley swallowed thickly, not liking to think about that specific chain of events. “But, you…Tony’s really trying here, and so is Pepper. And sure, Morgan talks a bunch but she’s great too, so can you just. Try not to be as standoffish? For everyone’s sake but especially…”</p>
<p>            Harley looked at Peter. He still tugged absently on his hair, but he seemed to have calmed down a little. And then Harley grinned and finished his statement.</p>
<p>            “Me. Especially me,” Peter huffed and punched him in the shoulder. Harley rubbed his arm and stuck his tongue out at Peter.</p>
<p>            “Yeah. I’ll try. I want it to be normal man, I really do. It’s just going to take me a minute. Can you handle that? I’m still getting used to being solid again,” Peter said, half as a joke and half being completely serious. Harley laughed and nodded.</p>
<p>            “I think I can handle that. Tony misses you,”</p>
<p>            “I miss him too, but…” Peter sighed and gave Harley a weak half-smile. “I just. Need a little space, and a little time,” Harley nodded. And then his signature goofy smirk made its entrance as he stood up.</p>
<p>            “Well, one thing’s become extremely clear to me in this lovely little heart to heart,”</p>
<p>            “Oh yeah? What’s that?” Peter asked, still sitting.</p>
<p>            “We cope very differently,”</p>
<p>            “That’s an understatement,”</p>
<p>            “Well, I mean, I tend to think that sarcasm is a lot more fun of a coping mechanism then sad music video re-enactment,”</p>
<p>            To Harley's utmost surprise, a sneaker came flying through the air at his head when he was busy laughing at his own joke. He just barely avoided being brained.</p>
<p>            “Hey!” He cried in indignation.</p>
<p>            “You deserved it,” Peter said, smirking.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter laid awake in his twin bed across from Harley, who was snoring incessantly. He picked up his phone off the dresser to check the time. 2:27 am. Peter sighed heavily and set his phone back down again. There was only the faint <em>swiissshhh…swoosshhh…</em>of the ocean current filling his ears, the same sound one would listen to on a white noise machine to help them relax.</p>
<p>            This was NOT the case for Peter.      </p>
<p>The relaxing sound drove Peter up the wall and made it practically impossible for him to sleep. He guessed it had something to do with growing up in New York, where the noise and unrest never ceased, not even at night. Or maybe the “<em>swiissshhh…swoosshhh…”</em> was just unnervingly repetitive. Whatever the reason, one thing was certain, and that was that Peter couldn’t sleep. Peter sighed again and let his thoughts wander to the evening before.</p>
<p>Harley and he had decided to finish unpacking, (or start unpacking, in Harley's case) after they had talked. Once they did that, they took a look around the rest of the house. The door just beside their room had led to a small bathroom with nothing more than the bare essentials. The hall across from them led to two more doors, one of which was the master bedroom, and another was a slightly smaller bedroom with just one bed. Nothing terribly fancy but they both agreed that it was a nice house. When Peter and Harley finally went downstairs, the others were back, Morgan chattering about how she had gotten <em>this close</em> to catching a real-life seagull, and Pepper and Tony asking how the boys liked the house. The rest of the evening was a bit of a whirlwind, with suitcases being carried upstairs and unpacked and the general chaos of moving in for the summer. They ended up ordering a pizza, which Harley answered the door for, since Tony was famous and all that. The whole evening was so hectic that Peter didn’t even get a chance to really talk to anyone, so he would have to keep his promise to Harley later. Peter had resolved to be more talkative and involved with the family, but it was going to take a while. It wasn’t going to happen overnight.</p>
<p>Peter checked his phone again. 2:33 am. Peter exhaled heavily. It was going to be a long night if it kept going like this. He sat up and swung his legs out of bed. If he had to be awake, he might as well be doing something. He threw on a sweatshirt that he found on the floor. He was pretty sure it was Harley’s, but he didn’t care that much because Harley wasn’t conscious enough to be annoying about it. He unplugged his phone from the charger and shoved it into his pocket. He was careful not to walk too heavily so as to not wake Harley or anyone else up as he crept down the stairs. Peter was so focused on being quiet, he didn’t realize the lights were on in the living room till he got to the bottom step and he looked up. It looked like Peter wasn’t the only one having a hard time sleeping.</p>
<p>Sitting on the overstuffed couch, facing away from him, was Tony. He was watching something that looked like an off-brand “My Strange Addiction”, but he didn’t look that into it. For a moment Peter contemplated just going back upstairs and watching something on his phone with headphones, but then he remembered his conversation with Harley earlier.</p>
<p>
  <em>“so can you just. Try not to be as standoffish?”</em>
</p>
<p>Peter sighed internally. This was him trying not to be so standoffish, he told himself. If he didn’t do anything else, he could tell Harley he tried, at least once. He took a deep breath and walked over to the couch. Tony looked up when he heard footsteps.</p>
<p>“Hey kiddo, what’s up? You ok?” Tony asked, concern evident in his voice. Peter walked around to the unoccupied end of the couch and sat down.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m fine, just couldn’t sleep. You too?” Peter asked, trying to act like Harley, and pretend everything was normal. Tony smiled softly.</p>
<p>            “Yep.” Tony said, popping the P. “It’s too quiet.” Peter nodded in agreement, but then a thought popped into his head.</p>
<p>            “Wasn’t your cabin in Georgia quiet?” Tony looked thoughtful for a minute.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, it was. But I’ve been back in New York since, well since this,” Tony held up his metallic prosthetic. “and I’m kinda used to the noise again. But give it a few days and I’ll be used to the quiet,” Peter nodded again. There were a couple minutes of silence, where they both watched the woman on the TV explain when her addiction to cheesy potatoes started, but they were both highly aware of the other. Peter broke the somewhat awkward silence.</p>
<p>            “Where do they find these people?” He asked in wonder, eyebrows creased as they watched the woman show them her refrigerator full of cheese. Tony yawned.</p>
<p>            “I think it’s all scripted, and they just find struggling actors that need a paycheck.” He said in a bored tone.</p>
<p>            “Hmmm. I saw an episode one time where the person’s strange addiction was eating mattresses. You would have to pay me a lot to eat a mattress.” Peter said thoughtfully.  Tony snickered.</p>
<p>            “Who knows, maybe there’s just a lot of weird people in the world.”</p>
<p>            “Yeah.”</p>
<p>            Peter wasn’t sure if this was awkward or if they were both just so tired this was the only interesting conversation they could come up with. Tony looked at Peter appraisingly for a minute. Then he frowned slightly and gestured at the bright orange hoodie that said “TENNESSEE” on it.</p>
<p>            “Isn’t that Harley’s hoodie?”</p>
<p>            “Mmmhmm. He’s the one that left it on the floor, it’s mine now.” Peter said simply. He decided that it was a mixture of tiredness AND awkwardness.</p>
<p>            “Ah, I see.”</p>
<p>            Another awkward silence followed, and Peter was beginning to wish he would have just gone back upstairs and watched “Star Wars” again, or “Outrageous Acts of Science” on his phone. He checked the time. 2:59 am. He moved to get up. Tony looked questioningly at him.</p>
<p>            “I think I’m gonna try and get some sleep,” Peter said. Tony looked a little disappointed.</p>
<p>            “Oh. Ok.” He said. Peter nodded, and as he was turning to leave, Tony stopped him.</p>
<p>            “Hey, Pete?” Peter turned around.</p>
<p>            “Yeah?”</p>
<p>            “Are we good? Do you want to talk about anything, cause it’s been…a little awkward and I—” Peter interrupted Tony’s rambling.</p>
<p>            “We’re good Tony.” Peter lied.</p>
<p>            “Are you sure?”</p>
<p>            “100 percent.”</p>
<p>            “Ok, well. Goodnight. Love you.”</p>
<p>            “Night, Tony. Love you too.” With that, Peter made his escape.</p>
<p>            Afterall. The first step to being normal was acting normal.</p>
<p>            Right?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaaaand the second chapter! The third one probably won't be up for a few days. I hope you enjoyed! Constructive criticism is always welcome. :)</p>
<p>By the way, if anyone is interested in that off-brand my strange addiction episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJGIMd3_LfY</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Peter woke up the next morning with a slight neck ache. He opened his eyes and realized it was because his neck was practically hanging off the bed. Ugh. He sat up and tried to put his neck back in the right place. When it was obvious the neckache was there to stay, he picked his phone up from the dresser to check the time. 10:32 am. And his phone was almost dead because he had forgotten to plug it back in last night. Ugh. This morning was off to a fabulous start. He had finally fallen asleep at about 5:30 am, just when the sun was starting to come up, so it looked like he’d be rocking five hours of sleep. Oh well, that was about his average anyway. He stood up out of his bed and just now noticed that Harley was apparently already awake because he wasn’t there. Peter sighed and got dressed in a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt that had periodic table elements spelling out sarcasm, and underneath it, “The elements needed to deal with stupid people.” It had been a gift from Harley awhile back. He headed out into the hall. Even just at the top of the stairs, it was loud in the kitchen, the type of loud that would probably set him on edge and give him a headache. <em>Guess I’ll just have to get over it. </em>He thought. He braced himself for the noise and walked downstairs.</p><p>            The view from the stairs was like watching a TV sitcom. Harley and Morgan were laughing about something Pepper had said and Tony flipped pancakes in a frying pan, smiling softly. Pepper's piano playlist played quietly in the background. If Peter would have remembered to bring his camera with him, he would have snapped a picture of the perfect family scene. Peter smiled slightly.</p><p>            His smile quickly fell, because he wasn’t in the perfect snapshot. He briefly thought back to the conversation with Harley yesterday. They seemed so happy alone, and Peter just felt so out of place…Maybe Harley was wrong? He shook his head. Peter didn’t feel like dealing with his own self-doubt at the moment, so he pushed forward and finished his trek down the stairs. Pepper was the first to see Peter walk in.</p><p>            “Morning Peter, you sleep well?” She asked cheerfully.</p><p>            “Yeah, sure, how about you?” He asked, sitting down in one of the mismatched chairs next to Harley. He reached for a plate and what looked like a blueberry pancake.</p><p>            “Just fine.” She replied.</p><p>            Harley looked at him and nodded approvingly. Peter pretended not to notice and bit into his pancake. He was surprised at how good they were. Before the snap, Tony had been a terrible cook, maybe not quite as bad as Aunt May, but pretty bad. These pancakes did not attest to that, these pancakes were almost restaurant-worthy.</p><p>            “When did you get good at cooking?” He asked, taking another bite of his pancake. He didn’t realize how rude that sounded until after the sentence had left his mouth, and his brain caught up with him. He blushed and started to apologize when Pepper started laughing.</p><p>            “I finally bought him a cookbook!” She laughed.</p><p>            “Hey! I was already a good cook, I just had to find my inner chef.” Tony said, matter-of-factly. Pepper nodded and patted Tony on the shoulder.</p><p>            “Yeah, sure.” She said. Tony turned around and looked at Pepper, who had her head cocked to the side as if to say, “Whatever helps you sleep at night”. He rolled his eyes and then gave her a peck on the lips. Peter was reminded of how much things had changed while he was gone.</p><p>            “Hey, come on guys, you’re making the pancakes uncomfortable!” Harley said loudly. Tony looked at Harley appraisingly, and then Pepper. And he kissed her again. Harley groaned and promptly ate another pancake, and Morgan laughed loudly while eating her own pancakes.  </p><p>            Even after Harley had explained it to him, he didn’t get it. The dynamic between the four was so pleasant, so wholesome, Peter just didn’t think it could all be an act on Harley’s part.</p><p>            This was frustrating to no end for Peter because he just <em>didn’t understand</em>. How come he wasn’t able to do that? He shook his head. He would get there. He would get there, he told himself. Hopefully.</p><p>            Tony and Pepper sat down and finished up breakfast with everyone else, talking about this and that, and Peter really did wish he had his camera because even if he didn’t feel quite at home, he would have loved to take some pictures of the scene.</p><hr/><p>            After breakfast, they all decided to explore some of the local flora and fauna, so they headed to the beach. They brought a couple of beach chairs and some bottles of water and hiked down to a nice sandy area that was shaded by several trees and set up shop. Morgan jumped around happy as a clam, despite the heat.</p><p>            “Peter, do you wanna go look for shells with me?” Peter looked at the bouncing brunette and nodded.</p><p>            “Sure,” He said. Morgan smiled, and turned to Harley, expectantly.</p><p>            “No thanks, Mo, I’m gonna hang back for a little bit.” Morgan just shrugged, unbothered. She grabbed Peter's hand and drug him down to the shoreline to look for shells.</p><p>            In the following two hours, they found some small sand dollars, a conch shell, and several broken oyster shells, as well as various rocks Morgan had dubbed “cool”. Then, somehow, Morgan convinced Peter to go wading in the water with her, which Harley joined in on. Peter shut that down almost as soon as it started, though, because no matter how hot it was OUT of the water, it was far too cold IN the water. Harley agreed with that sentiment and had retreated to the shade. After two and a half hours of wandering the beach with Morgan, Peter was hot, sweaty and felt a sunburn coming on. The only thing he wanted to do was get away from the sweltering sun. It took a little convincing, but he finally got Morgan to go back to the shade of the trees the rest of the group had sheltered under.</p><p>            He sat down out of the sun. His arms and ears were turning a nice shade of red, and Peter felt his blood pounding in his arms. Pepper noticed Peter’s new scarlet skin tone and threw him a tube of sunscreen and a bottle of water.</p><p>            “You look cooked, kid.”</p><p>            “I feel cooked too…” Peter muttered grumpily, taking a sip of the water.</p><p>            “Put on some sunscreen,” Pepper said, the mom in her surfacing.</p><p>            “Isn’t it a little late for that?” Peter responded. Pepper shrugged.</p><p>            “It’ll keep you from getting more sunburned,” She offered. Peter just chugged the rest of his water and leaned back against the tree behind him. He was hot and tired and just wanted to go inside. He tried to fan himself with his water bottle.</p><p>            “Where’s Harley and Tony?” He asked as Pepper slathered sunscreen on a squirming Morgan.</p><p>            “Over there,” Pepper nodded to the left, where Harley and Tony were. Peter turned his head to see them walking towards him. Harley walked up to him.</p><p>            “Hey, when did you start impersonating a cooked lobster?” Harley asked, smirking. Peter glared daggers at Harley and didn’t dignify him with a response.</p><p>            “Ok, ok, sorry!” Harley threw his arms up in surrender and walked over to one of the beach chairs that held the bottles of water. Tony went to grab a bottle of water as well.</p><p>            Morgan finally escaped the torture Pepper was putting her through and rushed over to Peter, who had his eyes closed.</p><p>            “Can you help me build a sandcastle?” She asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Did she have unlimited energy or something? The sunburn and heat and the sheer proximity of everyone was getting to Peter and compounding into a sizzling irritation. The last thing he wanted to do was snap at her, and he didn’t trust himself not to, so he settled for a shake of the head. Morgan turned a pair of puppy dog eyes on him.</p><p>            “Please?”</p><p>            “I don’t want to,” Peter said through gritted teeth. Morgan frowned.</p><p>            “Pretty, pretty please?” She asked. Peter rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Ask Harley,” He responded trying desperately to keep his cool, even though his skin felt like a thousand degrees.</p><p>            “Why won’t you?” She countered, still frowning. Peter was a hairsbreadth away from losing his patience.</p><p>            “Because, Morgan, I don’t like sand, and I don’t want to,” Peter had an edge to his voice that was sharp, but calm. Morgan got the picture. She looked slightly disappointed but shrugged it off better than most five-year-olds would have. She walked towards Harley and Pepper who had been talking about the heat, presumably to ask Harley to build a sandcastle with her. Tony had been watching the interaction.</p><p>            “You know Pete, she just wanted to hang out with you, you didn’t have to blow her off like that,” Tony said reproachfully. Peter almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.</p><p>            “I didn’t blow her off, I’ve been hanging out with her all day,” Peter said, in a dangerously quiet voice. Tony either didn’t listen or didn’t care about what Peter had said, because he pushed on without pause.</p><p>            “Look, kid, I get that this is new for you, but you can’t just ignore her. She’s trying to get to know you and you should get to know her too, you can’t be so abrasive to her, she just wanted to build a sandcastle and—” Peter couldn’t hear anything past that due to the blood pounding in his ears. And it wasn’t from the sunburn.</p><p>            Peter couldn’t believe that Tony was <em>lecturing </em>him about hanging out with his daughter after he had played with her the entire day. What had Harley been doing? What had Tony been doing? Tony continued to lecture Peter about hurting Morgan’s feelings. Peter tried, he tried <em>desperately </em>to calm down, <em>desperately </em>to build a wall around his anger, but as Tony continued, the wall Peter was trying to build up was being torn down, brick by brick, stone by stone, until finally, it was a crumpled pile of stones at his feet. Peter saw red. Peter jumped to his feet, dropping his water bottle.</p><p>            “What the hell are you talking about, Tony? I’ve been “getting to know” Morgan all day! I came out here and entertained your kid all day! Where were you and Harley, huh? What were you guys doing? Harley wasn’t “getting to know” Morgan, but I was!” Peter gestured wildly letting his full range of emotions show. Tony looked shocked, as did Pepper and Harley, though Harley’s look was slowly transforming to one of distress. Peter continued his rant.</p><p>            “You have the freaking GALL to lecture me about this? Because I didn’t want to build a freaking sandcastle? I didn’t know I was brought on this trip to be a babysitter, but if I would have known I would have saved us all a little trouble and not come at all!” Peter’s voice was at a full-blown shout now, as all his anger at himself, Tony and the world, bubbled over like lava into an unsuspecting village below. Tony stood up now.</p><p>            “We didn’t bring you to be a babysitter Peter, and you know that! You could maybe act a little more mature, and not act like everyone is out to get you!” Tony yelled back in anger. This enraged Peter more.</p><p>            “What do you want from me? What do you people want from me?” Peter yelled. Harley, getting over his shock, jumped into action. He got in front of Peter and grabbed him by the arm.</p><p>              “Let’s take a walk Peter, let’s go,” Harley said in a calming voice. Peter pulled away obviously having more to say, but Harley grabbed him again.</p><p>            “Parker, you don’t want to do this ok, everyone needs to calm down, let’s take a walk, come on,” Harley said in a low calm voice. Harley grabbed him and turned him around, doing his best to pull Peter away from the confrontation. Peter backed down but yanked his arm out of Harley’s grip and started trudging down the beach. Harley put a hand to his face and sighed, before turning around and shouting back:</p><p>            “We’re gonna walk to town and get some snacks ok? I’ll get you some gummy bears, ok Mo?” Then he turned around and ran to catch up to Peter, who was taking huge strides.</p><p>            They didn’t talk for at least ten minutes. Peter walked fast, anger and frustration pouring off of him and Harley almost had to jog to keep up. Peter fumed. He already regretted at least half of what he said, but he was still angry. His wall was still broken. Harley broke the steely silence, pushing his hair out of his face.</p><p>            “When I asked you to be less standoffish, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” He side-eyed Peter as he spoke, not quite willing to look his raw fury directly in the eyes. Peter clenched his fists.</p><p>            “Well, Harley, it’s not exactly what I had in mind either,” Peter said, sharply, walking even faster. They were almost to town now.</p><p>            “What the hell just happened?” Harley asked finally looking at Peter. Peter did not return the favor.</p><p>            “What did it freaking look like, Harley?” Harley rolled his eyes. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere.</p><p>            “You wanna know what it looked like? It looked like you snapped at Morgan, and Tony was upset about it, and then you flipped out, that’s what it looked like!” Harley replied in irritation. They were at the sidewalk leading to the shops now, and they were in close proximity to several people. Peter stopped short and spun around to face Harley. Peter looked at him. The anger that previously resided in his eyes, was replaced with resentment and hurt.</p><p>            “You think this is all my fault?” Peter asked, voice cracking. Harley stared at Peter blankly.</p><p>            “What am I supposed to think Peter? You’re the one that was yelling at Tony for no reason—”</p><p>            “No reason? No re—” Peter bit his bottom lip and looked away. He didn’t even know what to say anymore. He couldn’t do anything right, he was just screwing up this whole trip for everyone, and obviously he wasn’t the only one that thought that. He let out a breath and looked back at Harley. “You know what? You’re right. I’m just screwing everything up for everyone so, why don’t you just head back, and I’ll just steer clear for a while, yeah?” Peter’s mouth twitched as he nodded and turned to leave. Harley rolled his eyes and looked up to the sky.</p><p>            “Peter, don’t be like that, come on—”</p><p>            “No, I get it, man, don’t worry about it, see ya later,” Peter interrupted as he continued to walk away. He waved behind him at Harley. The duo was gaining spectators. Harley didn’t budge.</p><p>            “Peter! Come back!” Harley shouted. Peter didn’t respond but instead chose to keep walking. Harley was fed up. If Peter wanted to act like a child, he’d let him, he would make his way back later. Harley decided to find the nearest 7-11 so he could grab some gummy bears and head back.</p><hr/><p>            Peter walked down the uneven sidewalk of the small South Carolina town. Happy tourists walked past him chattering about what to do next and the sun beat down on his already sunburnt skin. He was emotionally and physically drained and he had absolutely zero desire to think about anything let alone the events of the last hour. So, he didn’t. He was comfortably numb for the first time since the blip, and it felt amazing. The only concern on his mind was finding something to drink. He pretended he was just a normal tourist and that helped lift his spirits. There were ice cream shops, pizza restaurants, souvenir stands, and almost any other store you could think of. He found a concession stand and bought a Red Bull and a couple of Slim-jims, which he promptly ate. He sipped the Red Bull as he traipsed around town. As he wandered, he stumbled across a camera store called “Snapshot”. He was intrigued enough to go inside. He hadn’t been to a camera store in…well…best not to think of how long since that would probably pull him out of his numb state.</p><p>            He entered the store, door jingling as he walked through the threshold. The store appeared empty, both of customers and employees. There were tall shelves filled with photography books, cameras of all shapes, sizes, and styles, film, lenses, and sample photos. It had a very “mom-and-pop shop” vibe to it, that immediately pulled Peter in. He walked over to one of the shelves that held the photography books and started leafing through them while he sipped his drink. He was so enthralled with one of the books on digital photography, that he didn’t notice a girl coming up beside him.</p><p>            “Those things’ll kill you, ya know,”</p><p>            Peter almost jumped out of his skin. He dropped the book he was holding and almost dropped his drink as well. He looked towards the origin of the southern voice. Turns out the voice came from a girl, about his age, that had long curly blonde hair and the brightest green eyes Peter had ever seen. She wore a pair of denim shorts and a pale-yellow t-shirt. She laughed hard at Peter, and he began to blush.</p><p>            “Oh, a, sorry about the book. I didn’t uh, mean to drop it,” He stuttered out as he reached down to pick up the book. The girl’s laughter broke off.</p><p>            “Oh, don’t even worry about it, I didn’t mean to scare ya!” She exclaimed, grinning. Peter grinned too. Just then, he processed what she had originally said.</p><p>            “Umm, what thing will kill me? Digital cameras?” Peter asked gesturing at the book in his hand. The girl stifled another laugh.</p><p>            “Uh, no. I meant the energy drink,” Peter blushed again and felt like a complete idiot.</p><p>            “Oh, duh,” Peter laughed nervously. She smiled, eyes full of humor.</p><p>            “I’m Alexa, Alexa Cook, my dad owns the store. Sorry I scared you,” She held out her hand to shake Peter’s. Peter almost tried to shake her hand with the book he was holding but recovered just in time to put the book back on the shelf and shake her hand.</p><p>            “Peter Parker,” He introduced himself, “No problem honestly,” He said. Alexa looked at Peter appraisingly, and then snickered, immediately putting Peter on edge.</p><p>            “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, I just love your shirt,” Alexa said chuckling. Peter felt relieved.</p><p>            “Oh, uh, yeah! You into chemistry?” Peter asked, relaxing slightly. Alexa grinned, happily and held up her wrist that had a yellow bracelet with a chemical element charm.</p><p>            “Total nerd for it, the charm is the chemical structure of serotonin, you know? The happy chemical?” She said excitedly, showing off her charm.</p><p>            “That is so cool! I don’t know many people that are into chemistry, all my friends are into robotics or like computers and art you know?” Alexa nodded in agreement, dropping her hand to her side.</p><p>            “Yeah for sure. You like photography too huh? So, you’re an artsy smart guy?” She said leaning on the bookshelf next to her. Peter chuckled.</p><p>            “Um, I guess? I mean, I’m kind of an amateur, but I like it, it’s something fun that you don’t have to think too much about,” Peter responded being weirdly honest with someone he had only met five minutes ago. It felt kind of nice.</p><p>            “Yeah, I totally get that,” She responded. She smiled slightly and bit her bottom lip. “So, I know we just met, but I’m…kind of feeling a connection? Can I give you my number? Maybe we can hang out sometime?” She asked nervously. Peter was a little surprised, but what the hell? He felt a connection too, and maybe having a friend around town would make this summer easier.</p><p>            “Sure, that’d be great,” He said. Alexa’s smile grew.</p><p>            “Awesome! Can I just enter it in your phone?” She asked. Peter nodded and opened his contacts app and clicked the “+” sign.</p><p>            “Here ya go,” Peter handed Alexa his phone. She typed for a minute or so and then handed it back.</p><p>            “Text me if you feel like it, we can talk chem or photography or whatever,” She shrugged. Peter nodded.</p><p>            “Cool, sounds good. Uh, see you around!” Peter said, pocketing his phone and heading out the door. Alexa called her goodbyes, and Peter waved. Well, that wasn’t exactly how he had expected his day to go, but he guessed he couldn’t complain…well, at least about the second half.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright here's chapter 3! It's a little bit longer, and for some reason, I was having a hard time writing it. Anyway! Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Tony looked on in shock as Peter and Harley walked down the beach. His bafflement and irritation were displayed in his facial expression. Pepper shook her head and sighed.</p>
<p>            “Nice going, Tony,” Pepper said, bending down to pick up Peter’s discarded water bottle. Tony stared at Pepper, mouth agape.</p>
<p>            “What’s <em>that</em> supposed to mean, Pepper?” Tony asked in a snappy tone. Pepper turned her head and looked up at him from where she was crouched. Her eyes held a tiredness in them like she had aged decades in just a few months, but the fresh annoyance that shone through them was unmistakable.</p>
<p>            “It means, <em>Tony</em>,” She stood up. “That you messed up,” Tony looked at her indignantly, but before he could respond, Morgan walked up to Pepper and touched her arm.</p>
<p>            “Mommy, is Peter okay? Is he mad? Is Harley mad too?” She asked rapid-fire, lines of concern etched on her forehead. Pepper crouched to look Morgan in the eyes.</p>
<p>            “It’s…it’s a little bit complicated kiddo. Yes, Peter is mad, I don’t think Harley is though, and…listen, how about we finish this conversation back at the house when the boys get back? Ok?” Morgan nodded, still looking concerned. “Ok. Why don’t you build a sandcastle by yourself while Daddy and I talk?” Morgan nodded again and reluctantly wandered out onto the beach. Pepper stood up and looked at Tony again.</p>
<p>            “I’m sorry, how did I screw up when Peter is the one that was freaking out at<em> me</em>?” Pepper gave him a look.</p>
<p>            “Are you serious?” Pepper asked, actually wondering.</p>
<p>            “Yes! I’m trying to figure out how this is all my fault!” Tony whisper shouted, not wanting Morgan to hear since she was only a few feet down the beach.</p>
<p>            “Ok Tony, Peter was playing with Morgan all day. They took a break because Peter was hot and tired, Morgan started bugging him to hang out with her and he said no, which you proceeded to lecture him about, which really wasn’t fair since you didn’t lecture Harley for saying no to Morgan this morning, so. Do you get it now?” Pepper said, hands on her hips. Tony paled slightly and he didn’t say anything. Pepper threw up her hands.</p>
<p>            “And the penny drops!” She exclaimed.</p>
<p>            “I didn’t…mean it like that,” Tony said quietly.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I know you didn’t. You just want him to be back to normal right? Like Harley is, or, at least, pretends to be? That’s not how it works, Tony, it’s just not. Some people don’t suppress their emotions,” Pepper said, still looking irritated. Tony looked slightly offended but then nodded his head to the side, deciding it was an apt observation.</p>
<p>            “I know, I just want him to <em>like </em>Morgan. Be apart of the family. It isn’t looking good for that…”</p>
<p>            “Tony, It’s only day two! You need to give him some time! He does like Morgan, but that doesn’t mean he has to spend 24/7 with her, and who knows, maybe he wanted to hang out with you or Harley,” Pepper put a hand on Tony’s shoulder and squeezed. She understood what he was going through, what all of her boys were going through. She just wished that Harley and Tony would just be <em>patient</em>. She <em>needed </em>them to be patient. Even if they knew how to shove their issues to the side, it didn’t mean Peter had to. She sighed and let her hand drop.</p>
<p>            “We should all talk, a family meeting back at the house when the boys get back, yeah?” Pepper asked, all the irritation she had, now gone. Tony nodded. Pepper nodded too.</p>
<p>            “I’m gonna go build a sandcastle with Morgan, want to come?” Pepper asked.</p>
<p>            “Nah, I’m going to get our stuff together, so we can get out of here quick,” Pepper raised her eyebrows but nodded and left to help Morgan.</p>
<p>            Tony felt terrible. It had been such a stupid, stupid argument, and it was completely unnecessary. He just hoped that Harley was talking Peter through it and he would be ready to talk when they came back.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            To Tony’s tremendous disappointment, Harley returned not with Peter, but with a package of Haribo gummy bears for Morgan.</p>
<p>            “Where’s Peter?” Tony asked looking slightly crazed.</p>
<p>            “He decided to go off by himself,” Harley said, seemingly irritated at his earlier interaction with Peter. Tony clawed through his hair with his fingers and stared at Harley.</p>
<p>            “What do you <em>mean </em>he went off by himself?” Tony demanded in a hoarse voice.</p>
<p>            “Look, I guess he needed some space or something because he didn’t want to talk to me, so he split as soon as we got to town and said he’d “steer clear for a while” so I decided to get some gummy bears and come back,” Harley explained. Tony ran his hand through his hair repeatedly and muttered to himself. Pepper, who had been listening put a hand on Tony’s back and he stopped muttering.</p>
<p>            “Look, guys, Peter needed some time to himself, <em>understandably</em>,” Pepper looked pointedly at Harley and Tony. “Let’s head back to the house and I’m sure Peter will be back soon,” Tony looked at Pepper like she was crazy. “Tony, Peter will be fine, ok?” Tony nodded reluctantly. With that, they all walked back to the house.</p>
<p>            Once they arrived back at the house, Pepper led everyone into the living room for a family meeting. Tony and Harley sat on the couch while Morgan sat in one of the chairs, absently flipping through one of her national geographic magazines. Pepper cleared her throat and conducted the meeting in the same way she would one for Stark Industries.</p>
<p>            “Look, guys. I know Peter’s been distant for the last couple of days, but you both need to back off.” This statement was met with one look of reluctant acceptance (Tony) and one look of indignation (Harley). Harley looked like he wanted to say something, but Pepper pushed on before he could get the words out.</p>
<p>            “And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean distance yourself from him, I mean letting him deal with his problems on his own terms and not on yours…some patience if you will. He’s struggling and what he needs from us is <em>patience</em>. You guys have your ways of coping, I have mine, and Peter has his, so…chill,” Pepper finished, leaning on the TV cabinet. Her picture of professionalism was only ruined by her flyaway hairs that were falling out of her ponytail and her sandy purple t-shirt. Harley stared at the ground, a blank expression on his face. Tony still seemed stressed but nodded at Pepper in agreement. Pepper gave them a tight smile. Morgan had been listening too. Pepper turned to her.</p>
<p>            “So, Mo, that means I need you to be super, super nice to Peter, ok? That means if he tells you he doesn’t want to hang out for a little bit, you just need to leave him be, sound good?” Morgan looked thoughtful for a moment as she chewed on one of her gummy bears.</p>
<p>            “Does that mean I can’t ask him to play anymore?”</p>
<p>            “No, it just means if he says no, you have to be ok with that,” Pepper responded.</p>
<p>            “Ok!” Morgan said smiling, going back to her gummy bears and her magazine.</p>
<p>            Pepper nodded again, smiling back.</p>
<p>            “Alright, so we all get the game plan?”</p>
<p>            Everyone (minus Morgan, who was busy looking at pictures of pandas) nodded their heads.</p>
<p>            “Ok, good! In that case, since it’s now,” She checked her watch. “three ‘o’clock, I’m gonna change and have some lunch. Morgan, you need to change too, you’re covered in sand.” Pepper said. Morgan mumbled an ‘ok’ and kept reading her magazine as she got up to go upstairs. Tony followed Pepper and Morgan to go change.</p>
<p>            Harley stayed on the couch, still staring at the floor, lost deep in thought.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Once 6:00 rolled around and no one had heard from Peter, Tony’s anxiety kicked in. He paced around the kitchen table over and over, running his hands through his hair and wishing there was something productive he could do with his hands. His continual nervous fidgeting was starting to irritate Pepper. She shut her book abruptly. Pepper clasped her hands and stared at Tony.</p>
<p>            “Tony, you’ve got to stop pacing, you’re driving me crazy,” Pepper said giving him a pained smile. Tony stopped short and turned to Pepper, looking frenzied.</p>
<p>             “I can’t help it, it’s six ‘o’clock and Peter’s not here and we don’t really know where he is,” Tony said in a crazed voice. Pepper looked at him and spoke in her ever-patient tone.</p>
<p>            “Tony, I really think he’s ok, I’ll text him, sound good? If he doesn’t respond in ten minutes, I’ll give him a call, and if he doesn’t pick up, then we can freak out, ok? But he has stuff he’s probably working through right now, and if he’s ok, I think we should leave him be, sound good?” Tony didn’t look overly happy about that suggestion.</p>
<p>            “What if he doesn’t want to come back?”</p>
<p>            “That’s irrational Tony, it was one argument,” Tony stared at Pepper for a few seconds, and then resumed his pacing and mumbled a ‘fine’. Pepper pulled out her phone.</p>
<p>            <strong>Pepper: Hey Peter, just wanted to make sure you’re ok.</strong></p>
<p>            A few minutes elapsed, and Pepper started to think she would have to call him.</p>
<p>            Nine and a half minutes later, her phone dinged.       </p>
<p>            <strong>Peter: Hey, I’m fine just needed to get away for a bit. Getting some dinner. Might see a movie.</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>            Pepper: Sounds good, stay out of trouble ok? Text me when you’re headed back, yeah?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Peter: K </strong>
</p>
<p>Pepper set down her phone and looked at Tony.</p>
<p>“Tony, Peters fine, he’s getting some dinner right now,”</p>
<p>            “Is he coming back?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah, at some point. Can you stop pacing now?”</p>
<p>            To Pepper's dismay, Tony continued to pace.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter sat on the coarse sand of the deserted beach, only a hundred or so feet away from the beat-up yellow beach house. The sun had set about an hour ago, giving way to the cloudy night that was only pierced by the dim light of the moon. Peter had been sitting on that beach for at least a half-hour, lost in thought. The numb state he had enjoyed earlier in the afternoon had been short-lived and he was forced to recollect the events of the afternoon. He regretted the argument completely now and felt embarrassed that he had yelled at Tony, though he still felt a stab of annoyance at the man. It had been a stupid argument and an even stupider situation, and he wished it had never happened. If one thing had become clear to Peter over the past four hours, it was this; It had definitely been a mistake to come on this vacation. He wasn’t ready and he was ruining it for everyone. He didn’t belong. He had to sort through his own shit before he could get back to normal and he could only do that in New York, he was sure.</p>
<p>            So, he called May. His plan was to ask her to pick him up from South Carolina. He wanted to salvage the rest of the summer for himself, but especially for everyone else. No reason for it to be more of a shit show than it already was.</p>
<p>            He listened patiently to the dialing tone of his phone, waiting for May to pick up, waiting to hear her voice. On the third ring, she answered.</p>
<p>            “Hey, Peter! How’s everything going kiddo, you having fun?” She asked enthusiastically. Peter took a deep breath. He didn’t know how to say it had been an epic failure from minute one.</p>
<p>            “Hi, May. Um, well…” There was a brief silence where Peter fought to locate the words he was looking for. “May I don’t think this was a good idea. I don’t belong anymore, and I think everyone would be happier if I just went home,” He said, choking up slightly. There was a deafening silence. Peter waited for May to say something…anything. Finally, he heard May sigh on the other line.</p>
<p>            “Peter…Hun, it’s been one day, don’t you think you should give it a little more of a chance?”</p>
<p>            “I’m messed up, it’s not going to work,”</p>
<p>            “Peter, that’s exactly why you need to stick it out. You have some unresolved tension with Tony, and you’ve gotta work that out. You two…need each other,” May’s voice was gentle and quiet. Coaxing.</p>
<p>            “Yeah well, we had an argument today, so that’s not exactly going well,” Peter said sarcastically.</p>
<p>            “You don’t think that’s part of the process, kid? You’re going to have some disagreements. Hell, you had disagreements before everything happened. You two need this. You all need this,”</p>
<p>            “It’s not going to work, May. It’s all changed too much,” Peter said, staring at the ebb and flow of the ocean.</p>
<p>            “That sounds an awful lot like giving up. You don’t give up. I didn’t raise a quitter,” May said in a playful tone. Peter rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>            “It’s not giving up, it’s thinking ahead,”</p>
<p>            “Welp. That’s too bad, kid, cause I’m not letting you give up after one day. You need to talk to Tony and get through this together,” Peter sighed heavily. He should have known May wouldn’t just let him give up. May continued. “Tell you what. Give it three weeks. If you still feel the same way, I’ll drive all the way out there and get you myself, and we can write this whole summer off. But you have to give it a fighting chance, k?” There was a brief silence.</p>
<p>            “Okay. Love you May.”</p>
<p>            “I larb you too,” Peter laughed at their inside joke.</p>
<p>            “Bye kid, don’t give up on them. They aren’t giving up on you,” Peter said goodbye and ended the call. Well so much for that plan. He supposed May was right. He was being dramatic, and he did need to give it a fighting chance, but damn, would it be so much easier if he could just go back to Queens and hide from it all.</p>
<p>            He sighed and jumped to his feet, brushing sand off his clothes. He picked up his shoes that were laying in the sand. He quickly shot Pepper a text that he was heading back. He walked as slowly as humanly possible on his way back, thinking about what to say to Tony. By the time he reached the back porch of the house, he still hadn’t come up with anything. He could see Tony from the patio door, sitting on the couch. He stood just out of view for a few minutes.</p>
<p>            He didn’t want to talk to Tony right now, he just didn’t. So maybe he was avoiding his issues. So, sue him. Who wasn’t avoiding their issues? He walked around the side of the house until he was underneath the window of his and Harley’s room. Now, this looked promising. If he climbed up the house and went through the window, he wouldn’t need to talk to anyone. He looked around, making sure he was alone. When he was certain he was, he started climbing the siding, sticking easily to the house. He got to his window, which unfortunately had a screen on it. He tugged at the bottom of it, trying to keep his balance so he wouldn’t fall. After a bit of pushing and pulling, the rickety screen came loose, and he carefully pulled it off the window frame. He opened the window, tossed the screen on his bed and climbed through the opening. Peter was startled by a loud yelp.</p>
<p>            “What the hell, Peter! What’s wrong with the door?” Harley, who had been lounging on the bed across from where Peter had made his unorthodox entrance, had dropped his package of gushers on the floor. Peter smirked.</p>
<p>            “Doors aren’t really my style,” Harley rolled his eyes and picked up his gushers. Having recovered from the shock of Peter’s sudden appearance, Harley looked at Peter a little awkwardly. Damn, was it awkward with Harley now too? Whatever good feelings Peter had previously had, disappeared. He couldn’t handle awkwardness with Harley as well as with Tony. Harley spoke quietly.</p>
<p>            “Hey, I’m…I’m sorry I ditched you earlier. That was a really crappy thing for me to do,” Harley focused on the package of sticky, artificially colored snacks he held in his hand. Peter stared in shock. He didn’t remember Harley apologizing to him for anything. He was so shocked that he didn’t reply, he just stared. Harley looked up slightly through his curtain of curls.</p>
<p>            “I…I’m also sorry I blamed you for the whole argument thing. That was shitty too,” The bafflement continued and so did Harley, deciding if he didn’t say it now, he never would. “I just…I just really want this thing to work out, this summer I mean. I know I act all…all “tough” or whatever, but I just really want everyone to be happy again, everyone to be…together…I miss it. A lot. I miss you guys, and I want you to hurry up and be fine again so I can have that, and I know it’s not fair, and it’s selfish, but I can’t help it sometimes and…”Harley paused to rub his face. He cleared his throat. “I just want it to be normal,” He whispered in a small voice. Harley fixed his eyes on his gushers once again. Peter had yet to say anything. He had never seen this side of Harley. He hadn’t realized how much everything had affected Harley, which he realized was stupid, because of course it had. It wasn’t like Harley didn’t have feelings too. Peter wasn’t exactly sure what to say. He worried his lip for a moment and then spoke.</p>
<p>            “It’s all good, Harls. It’s not your fault, everyone wants it to be normal, and you aren’t selfish for wanting that,” Harley looked at Peter like he didn’t <em>quite</em> believe him. “We’ll be ok Harley, just…gotta be patient,” Harley nodded absently. Peter bit his lip. Then he grabbed his pillow and threw it at Harley. He dropped his gushers again.</p>
<p>            “Any more of these talks and we’ll need our own Dr. Phil show where we just chat about our feelings,” Peter smirked trying to lighten the mood the same way Harley was always able too. It seemed to work because Harley picked up his gushers and grinned lopsidedly.</p>
<p>            “You make me drop my gushers again, and we’ll need our own episode of “Untold Stories of the ER”,”</p>
<p>            Peter was glad May had talked him out of leaving.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter was absolutely devastated that May had talked him out of leaving.</p>
<p>            It was the next morning and Peter was doing his best to avoid Tony. The night before, he had been able to convince Harley to tell Pepper he was home, and he passed out pretty early, both from being tired and trying to avoid talking with Tony. Mission accomplished, at least for the night. But now that it was morning, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could pull it off. He knew they had to eventually talk about yesterday, but he wanted to stall it as much as possible.</p>
<p>            So, in his room he sat, hiding from Tony who was in the kitchen. He didn’t know how long he could dodge Tony, but he was going to keep it up for as long as he could. Harley's loud snores cut through his thoughts. <em>That guy needs to see a doctor</em>, Peter thought frowning at the annoying sound. Peter’s phone buzzed. He looked down. It was a text from his group chat with Ned and MJ. Cool, a distraction from the snoring and from the looming awkward conversation. Peter unlocked his phone to look at the text.</p>
<p>            <strong>MJ: Sup losers, how’s your summer going?</strong></p>
<p>            Where did Peter start? He was in South Carolina for literally two days, already had two “deep” conversations with Harley, one argument with Tony, numerous awkward silences with the latter, knew more about dancing robots than he ever wanted to, curtesy of Morgan, and to top all that off he had a pretty wicked sunburn. Oh, and he met a girl that gave him her number. His phone buzzed again before he could compose a text.</p>
<p>            <strong>Ned: Bored out of my mind, hbu? </strong></p>
<p>Peter started typing.</p>
<p>            <strong>Peter: Wish I could say the same…</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>            MJ: Damnit Parker, you doing shit without us again? I’m fine, btw, sorta bored too</strong>
</p>
<p>So, seeing as he was also bored out of his mind hiding from Tony, he regaled his friends with the events of the last two days, starting with the car ride and ending with what he was doing currently. There were a few minutes where neither Ned nor MJ responded. Then MJ texted.</p>
<p>            <strong>MJ: That sucks, go talk to him, stop procrastinating</strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>            Ned: Yeah bro, though for real, what is your life? What are your problems? Wild…</strong>
</p>
<p>            Peter rolled his eyes at the texts.</p>
<p>            <strong>MJ: </strong><a href="https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/8-ways-procrastination-can-destroy-your-life.html"><strong>https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/8-ways-procrastination-can-destroy-your-life.html</strong></a></p>
<p>Peter followed the link. It was an article about how procrastination will destroy your life from a website called lifehack.org. He snorted and replied.</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Peter: Idk MJ, that doesn’t seem like a very reputable source…did you do fact-checking???</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            MJ: Stop. Procrastinating.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Peter: Fine. You’re a jerk</strong>
</p>
<p>Peter turned off his phone screen and sighed. He just needed to get this over with. He stood up and went out into the hall and down the stairs. Tony sat at the table scrolling through his tablet. Peter took a deep breath and walked straight for the fridge. Peter could feel Tony’s eyes on his back. He grabbed a coke from the fridge and closed his eyes for a moment. Peter saw MJ’s text. <em>Stop. Procrastinating.</em> He turned around to look at Tony.</p>
<p>            “Hey,” That was easy enough. Tony turned off his tablet.</p>
<p>            “Hey, Pete,” Awkward silence. Peter could go a lifetime without another awkward silence. He fidgeted with the can in his hand.</p>
<p>            “So, listen— “</p>
<p>            “I didn’t—”</p>
<p>            They both spoke at the same time and accidentally cut each other off. Peter gestured for Tony to continue.</p>
<p>            “I’m sorry about everything yesterday. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time like that,” Tony said making eye contact, genuinely sorry. Peter nodded.</p>
<p>            “I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have freaked out,” Peter said. It was Tony’s turn to nod. Silence.</p>
<p>            “I shouldn’t have said what I said I just…want it to be normal and…” Tony trailed off. Peter cracked his coke and walked past Tony. He patted him on the shoulder.</p>
<p>            “Take a number, we all want it to be normal,” He started walking upstairs. Tony turned to Peter.</p>
<p>            “We ok?” Tony asked. Peter paused for a moment</p>
<p>            “I’m sure we will be at some point…see ya, Tony,” He headed upstairs to wake up Harley.</p>
<p>            Was it progress?</p>
<p>            …Maybe.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter 4! Sorry that I took so long to update. :/ Quite a bit of dialogue but they were all working through some things, sooo... Hope you enjoyed! Chapter 5 is coming soon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, updated a day early, whaaat. Anyway I just wanted to thank you all for your comments and kudos, I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>          The next three days passed quietly. Peter and Tony tip toed around one another, still feeling slightly uncomfortable since their altercation on the beach, while Harley pretended he hadn’t let his walls down at all. Other than the occasional trip to the beach, they hadn’t done much, and it was…dull. How many shells and “cool” rocks could one person collect before it got boring? Peter combatted this newfound boredom by texting the girl from the camera store. He found that Alexa was funny and charming. She captivated him with her sharp wit and her interesting life, and it wasn’t long before he wanted to see her again. After two days of texting her (and much internal deliberation and turmoil), he decided to ask her out. What was the harm, right? He sent her a text.</p>
<p>            <strong>Peter: Hey, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to get lunch tomorrow?</strong></p>
<p>            She didn’t respond for two hours.</p>
<p>            The panic set in. Had he overstepped? Maybe it was too soon? He desperately tried to figure out how to backpedal, trying to salvage the situation.</p>
<p>            He was saved from himself when his phone buzzed.</p>
<p>            <strong>Alexa: Hey, sorry, my phone died, whoops! I’d love to go out with you, wanna grab pizza?</strong></p>
<p>            And just like that, all the anxiety he built up was replaced with excitement…and nerves.</p>
<p>            That’s how Harley found himself in their room, watching Peter change into and out of the same sweatshirt repeatedly. Regardless of the fact that it was 80 degrees outside, and he absolutely did not need a sweatshirt.</p>
<p>            “Dude. It’s a thousand degrees outside, why are you wearing a sweatshirt?” Harley asked skeptically, scrolling through his phone. His sister was attempting to catch him up on all the popular memes from the five years he was gone and something about an egg being the most liked picture on Instagram appealed to his sense of humor.</p>
<p>            Peter simply glared at him and took off the sweatshirt. Harley went back to scrolling through his phone. The memes were never-ending. When he looked up again, Peter was once again wearing the sweatshirt. Harley blinked dumbly.</p>
<p>            “It didn’t suddenly get cold outside Parker, she’ll think you’re crazy,” Peter once again glared at Harley and this time he flipped him off. Harley blinked again. Peter took off his sweatshirt and stared thoughtfully at it. Harley would have thought deciding against a sweatshirt in South Carolina during the end of May would be simple. Apparently not.</p>
<p>            Harley stood up, shaking his head and walked towards the door.</p>
<p>             “Where are you going?” Peter asked watching Harley leave the room. Harley looked back for a brief moment and then continued down the steps.</p>
<p>             “To check you into a mental institute,” He called behind him. Harley continued downstairs to the living room where Pepper was reading a book. Pepper looked up at Harley questioningly. Harley leaned against the TV cabinet across from Pepper, arms folded loosely.</p>
<p>            “Hey, Pepper,”</p>
<p>            “Um…Hey?” Pepper raised her eyebrows at him.</p>
<p>            “Peter is trying to suffocate himself in a hoodie for his date,” Pepper closed her book.</p>
<p>            “Um, why?”</p>
<p>            “Dunno, think he might be nervous, I mean, he’s taken it off and put it back on 600 times,” Harley rolled his eyes, and rubbed his face, “He’s distracting me from the <em>very important</em> world record egg, soo…” He finished sarcastically.</p>
<p>            “The…world record egg?” The list of people that could confuse Pepper Potts was short. Tony used to be second to none. Well, congrats, he was now second to Harley. In response to Pepper’s confusion, Harley merely nodded casually.</p>
<p>            “Mmhmm, the world record egg, so anyway I’m super busy, but I think the poor boy needs help, and I’ve already considered checking him into a mental hospital but I figured I’d see if you can talk him out of wearing a hoodie on an 80-degree day first,” Pepper shook her head and stood up.</p>
<p>            “You could have started with that,”</p>
<p>            “Where’s the fun in that?” Harley’s mischievous grin danced on his face. Pepper rolled her eyes and walked upstairs as Harley sat on the couch to keep looking at the torrent of memes that were pouring into his inbox.</p>
<p>            Pepper reached the top of the stairs and knocked on the doorframe. Peter jumped slightly and spun to face Pepper. He was wearing a red hoodie and dark wash jeans with a pair of white converse. He held a hand to his heart.</p>
<p>            “You scared me,” He said.</p>
<p>            “Sorry, didn’t mean to,” Pepper smiled apologetically. “When’s your date?”</p>
<p>            Peter, recovering from his surprise, blew out a puff of air and sat on his bed and fidgeted with his hands.</p>
<p>            “In an hour, at 12:30,”</p>
<p>            “Nervous?”</p>
<p>            “No,” Pepper raised her eyebrows. “…yes,”</p>
<p>            “Why?” Pepper asked leaning on the door frame. Peter bit his lip.</p>
<p>            “Cause besides homecoming, which was an epic failure, this is going to be my first date. And I’m a nerd. And I’m awkward as hell…” Peter rambled on nervously. Pepper walked in and sat down across from Peter.</p>
<p>            “Kid, you just gotta be yourself,” Peter snorted derisively. “I know it sounds stupid but it’s true, it’s only awkward if you pretend to be someone else,” Peter looked at Pepper and shook his head.</p>
<p>            “The only interesting thing about myself is the fact that I’m Spider-Man, and I can’t share that,” Peter ran a hand through his hair that was now extremely messy.</p>
<p>            That’s not true. You have all kinds of interests that make you who you are, you just have to power through that doubt,” They were quiet for a few seconds. Peter swallowed.</p>
<p>            “Thanks, Pepper,”</p>
<p>            “Anytime kid. Now I hate to ruin the moment, but you look like you’re going to fry,”</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter ended up leaving the house in a pair of khakis and a plain green t-shirt. He was extremely grateful that Pepper had talked him out of the jeans and hoodie, considering just walking down the beach felt like he was walking through a house fire. As he walked, he repeated Pepper’s words to himself like a mantra. <em>Power through the doubt. Power through the doubt</em>.</p>
<p>            Nope. That did absolutely nothing. He was still a nervous wreck. Deep breaths. It’s just a date. Lots of people go on dates. He took the turn into town. Alexa and he had decided on a local pizza place she knew of. He walked down the sidewalk. His hands were sweaty, eww. Why had he decided to do this again? Because he needed to get out of the house and Alexa seemed cool, he reminded himself. Yeah. He could do this.</p>
<p>            He arrived in front of the Pizza place and walked in. A glance at his phone told him that he was ten minutes early. He scanned the tables, looking for her. She hadn’t arrived yet. He chose a booth under a window and sat down to wait. He pulled out his phone. It was blowing up with texts from Harley asking if he had seen the memes about invading area 51 yet. He shook his head. Ned and MJ caught him up on those <em>months</em> ago. Harley’s sister was seriously falling down on the job. Come to think of it, he was probably falling down on the job as well. He silenced his phone and put it back in his pocket. A few minutes later, the door to the store jingled and Alexa walked in. She looked around for a couple of seconds, looking for Peter. When she spotted him, she waved wildly before approaching the table. She was wearing a pair of white shorts and a blue and white striped button-down shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, but pieces fell out around her face. Peter stood up.</p>
<p>            “Hi!” Peter said enthusiastically. Alexa smiled brightly and gave him a quick hug.</p>
<p>            “Hiya!” She sat down and so did Peter.</p>
<p>            “So, how’s it goin, my artsy smart guy?” Alexa asked. Peter blushed slightly.</p>
<p>            “Pretty good, how about you?”</p>
<p>            “Superb! I’m starving though, you order yet?” Alexa asked, picking up a menu from the table.</p>
<p>            “Nope, I just got here,”</p>
<p>            “Sweet! You know what you’re gettin’?”</p>
<p>            “Probably the pepperoni,” Peter said.</p>
<p>            “I’m gonna get the Hawaiian,” Peter remembered a conversation he had recently had with Harley about people who got Hawaiian pizza. He recalled Harley saying something, what was it? <em>“People who get pineapple on pizza should be imprisoned for their crimes.”</em> Huh. He made a mental note to never tell Harley what type of pizza she had gotten.</p>
<p>            The waiter approached their table, and Alexa ordered a slice of Hawaiian pizza with a sprite, and Peter ordered a slice of pepperoni and a coke. When the waiter left to put in their order, Alexa rested her chin in her hand and looked at Peter appraisingly.</p>
<p>            “Soooo…” Alexa drug out her vowel for a couple seconds. There was a slight awkward pause before she continued. “How long have you lived in South Carolina?” She asked finally, smiling slightly.</p>
<p>            “Oh, umm, well, I actually don’t live here, I’m here for the summer with my…family?” Somewhere along the line, his statement had changed into a question, mostly due to the last word he had used. Maybe ‘family friends’ was more accurate? He didn’t dwell on it for too long, he just hoped she would still want to hang out with him after she found out South Carolina wasn’t his permanent residence. To his surprise, she barely blinked.</p>
<p>            “Cool, where do you usually live? You always come out to South Carolina for summers?” She asked curiously</p>
<p>            “Usually I live in Queens,” She looked intrigued. “But this summer’s kind of…different. They wanted us to “reconnect” after the whole blip nightmare happened, and I guess a summer here was their solution,” He finished. She dropped her hands to the table, leaning back in the booth.</p>
<p>            “You got blipped?” Alexa asked? Peter nodded in the affirmative.</p>
<p>            “My dad got blipped too,” She said. Peter cocked his head to the side.</p>
<p>            “For real? Your mom get blipped too?” Peter asked. Alexa looked slightly uncomfortable.</p>
<p>            “Um, my mom actually died when I was six, so no,”</p>
<p>            “Shit, I’m sorry,”</p>
<p>             She shrugged.</p>
<p>            “My parents actually died when I was little, too,” Peter said. She raised her eyebrows.</p>
<p>            “Oh. Who have you been living with?”</p>
<p>            “My Aunt, mostly. How about you? What did you do while your dad was gone?”</p>
<p>            “I was actually super lucky, my dad’s friend from college, Phil, actually reached out to me and took me in till everyone was un-blipped. Helped keep my dad’s business going too. Plus, he got me into chemistry. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him, but it was kind of a weird adjustment when my dad got back” She said seriously. Peter nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>            “You’re telling me. It’s been so complicated,”</p>
<p>            “You can say that again,”</p>
<p>            Maybe it was because she was somebody new, somebody, that wasn’t connected to him that made her so easy to talk to about the snap. Maybe it was her charisma and compelling perspective. Whatever the reason, he found it practically impossible to not tell her everything that had happened to him in the past few months, and he had to restrain himself from telling her too much. Alexa likewise shared what it had been like for her. The initial awkwardness and dread Peter had felt melted away like ice cream on a hot day and he felt just <em>a little</em> more like his usual self. Like he belonged. Like he was understood.</p>
<p>            When they finished their pizza neither of them were quite ready to part ways, so they decided to take a walk down to the beach. Alexa talked as they walked.</p>
<p>            “So, how’s the “reconnecting” been going this summer?” Alexa asked. Peter laughed a little.</p>
<p>            “Um, not that smooth to be honest…A little rough around the edges, it’s just so weird for everyone you know?” Peter rubbed the back of his neck. Alexa nodded her head.</p>
<p>            “Yep, I do. Having my dad come back and living with him instead of Phil was definitely a learning curve but we both figured it out, I’m sure It’ll work out for you too, and meanwhile, you can hang out with me when it’s weird,”  </p>
<p>            Alexa’s optimism gave him hope. He was usually the optimistic one, but since the blip, it had been harder and harder to muster it up. He had fallen into a dark scary hole of pessimism, uncertainty, and darkness. From one little comment, he realized, just maybe, he could climb out of that hole.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Harley chopped onions for the hamburgers Tony was grilling. It was late afternoon, and Peter wasn’t back from his date. This didn’t really bother Harley, who had just gotten caught up on the entirety of the 2019 memes, but Tony seemed a little hurt that he’d been gone all day. Harley sighed absentmindedly. Peter and Tony were gonna be the death of him. If it wasn’t Peter acting sulky one day, it was Tony. Harley reminded himself patience was key, and <em>he was trying</em>. It was just. It was just this little voice at the very far back corner of his mind, wondering who exactly was being patient with him? No one. Because they were caught up in their own mini-drama. Harley shook the voice away. He was good, he was fine, they had taken the brunt of the damage, and so they had the right to be having their own drama. Harley just needed to learn to deal. He heard the front door opening. That’d be Peter.</p>
<p>            Peter walked in looking like he had just gotten off cloud nine, smiling goofily as he took off his sand-covered shoes. Harley pushed the onions, and his thoughts, to the side.</p>
<p>            “So, how’d it go?” Harley asked, leaning on one of the kitchen chairs. Peter looked back at Harley smiling.</p>
<p>            “It went great,” he said kicking his shoes out of the walkway. Harley grinned at him.</p>
<p>            “Where’d you go for lunch?” He asked curiously.</p>
<p>            “Pizza place, it was really good, we should go sometime,” He walked into the kitchen towards the fridge and began rummaging for something to drink. Harley looked at Peter strangely.</p>
<p>            “What type of pizza did she get, you can tell a lot about a person from their pizza choice,” There were a few seconds of silence before Peter answered.</p>
<p>            “Um, pepperoni, yeah,” Harley hummed.</p>
<p>            “A little boring maybe, but hey, pepperoni’s classy,” Peter rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>            “You’re a weirdo, pizza choice doesn’t mean jack,” Peter said finally deciding on a bottle of water and closing the fridge.</p>
<p>            “Um, I assure you, it means a great deal,” Peter shook his head.</p>
<p>            “Ok Harls, whatever you say. Where is everyone?” He asked, leaning on the kitchen counter. Harley gave him that strange look again but answered.</p>
<p>            “Tony’s on the patio grilling, and Pepper and Mo are chilling on the beach,”</p>
<p>            “Sweet, need help with anything?” Another strange look from Harley. Peter crossed his arms.</p>
<p>            “Why do you keep looking at me like I brought home an Ewok?” Harley opened and closed his mouth and then opened it again to speak.</p>
<p>            “You just seem, so <em>you</em>, it’s kinda weird, I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s great, I just…you’re different than you were this morning. She replace you with a body double?” Peter grinned.</p>
<p>            “Nope, I’m just feeling pretty good right now, I don’t know why but she was super easy to talk to and I was able to get some things out and I just feel…better,” Harley raised his eyebrows.</p>
<p>            “You talked about the blip?” Peter nodded. “Isn’t that kind of a heavy first date topic? Don’t you usually talk about, I don’t know, music or something?” Harley asked skeptically. Peter shrugged.</p>
<p>            “She was cool with it,” Harley frowned for a moment, and then shrugged.</p>
<p>            “Ok. I guess whatever works for you. Go check if Tony needs any help, I’m just gonna finish with these,” He gestured at the onions. Peter looked slightly pained.</p>
<p>            “Is he, I don’t know, annoyed I was gone all day?” Harley shrugged.</p>
<p>            “Dude, I don’t know, y’all need to get over it and stop tip-toeing around each other,” He resumed chopping the onions. Peter sighed.</p>
<p>            “Ok whatever, you finish 2019’s memes?” Harley snickered.</p>
<p>            “You never had your sister send you a thousand memes in a day, and it shows,”</p>
<p>            “I guess that’s a yes,”</p>
<p>            “Duh,” Harley responded. Peter walked into the living room and out the back door.</p>
<p>            Harley was glad Peter seemed a little more like himself. But sharing all of his issues with a girl he just met? That sounded a little risky. Or maybe Harley was just being overprotective.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And chapter 5 is done. What will come next? :) Keep an eye out for chapter 6 next Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks for reading.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Tony stood over the sink looking out the window. It was a cloudy morning, perhaps to match his demeanor. He watched as grey, puffy masses drifted across the sky, giving way to blue sky occasionally, only to be replaced by yet another giant cloud. He sipped his steaming black coffee and savored the bitter taste. It was a small consolation that the taste of his coffee remained the same among all the changes his life had undergone. Everything else had changed. Where he lived, his family, even his right arm was different…at least his coffee was one thing that wouldn’t change. It’s odd, isn’t it? How a person finds themselves holding on to small, seemingly insignificant things through hard times. Tony thought of the last few days. Peter hadn’t been around much. He had been hanging out with a girl he had met in town almost daily since they first went out, and whether this was because he had made a deep connection with her, or because he wanted to avoid everyone, Tony wasn’t sure. At least he was acting more like himself. Some of his bubbly personality had returned and for that Tony was eternally grateful, but it didn’t change the fact that Peter had barely talked to him directly. Peter mostly talked to him through people, like Harley or Pepper. Tony just wished he knew what he had done to cause Peter to pull away, to cause Peter to want to avoid him. He missed the days before the snap, when they could spend hours on end working in the lab, feeling perfectly at ease with each other. What had he done to change that?</p><p>            Tony sighed and sipped his coffee again, latching on to the familiarity. Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with him. Maybe he just needed patience.</p><p>            Ha. Patience. The one thing he had never been good at. The one thing he was, in fact, notoriously bad at.</p><p>            Patience.</p><p>            The one thing the genius couldn’t grasp.</p><p>            Tony was wrenched violently out of his own mind by the sound of someone stumbling down the stairs. He turned away from the window to see who it was. His bet was that it was Harley, though 6:30 am was pretty early for him. The kid’s tongue may have been sharp, but his coordination was not. '</p><p>            “You okay, kid?”</p><p>            Whoever it was that was finding it difficult to walk didn’t respond, but instead tripped down the last couple of steps and landed loudly at the bottom. It became clear that the person wasn’t simply bad at using basic motor skills such as walking down staircases, but they had been struggling to pull on a hoodie. A head full of tousled brown hair finally emerged from the red hoodie, and, while Tony had been expecting Harley, it seemed the person who had been staggering down the stairs was actually Peter.  </p><p>            Peter was a picture of tiredness, with his messy hair and the dark circles under his eyes. His pajamas were wrinkled, the way they get when you toss and turn but just aren’t <em>quite </em>able to get comfortable in bed. He rubbed his face tiredly.</p><p>            “Oh hey. I didn’t think anyone would be up yet,” Peter said quietly.</p><p>            “Just me, everyone else is still asleep,” Tony said, taking another sip of his coffee while he looked calculatingly at Peter over the top of his mug. Peter nodded absently and made a beeline for the coffee pot. Tony cleared his throat.</p><p>            “You sleep okay?” He asked, even though he could tell Peter hadn’t from his fatigued appearance and his desperation for caffeine. Peter snorted as he poured piping coffee into a mug.</p><p>            “Oh, you know, fabulous,” Peter poured sugar into the cup without bothering to measure how much sweetener made its way into the cup. The more sugar the better. Tony raised his eyebrows slightly. Peter didn’t notice at first and continued making his sickeningly sweet concoction. When he was satisfied with the quality of his drink, he lifted it to his lips and took a sip. When he noticed Tony’s expression, he sighed in a long-suffering type of way and set his cup down once again.</p><p>            “You’re no fun. Look, I’m fine just…couldn't sleep, it’s no big deal. It just happens sometimes. You should know that better than anyone,” Tony looked like he wanted to protest, but he ended up shrugging. </p><p>            “Yeah, just, you know, making sure you’re good, after…” Peter shook his head and hid his true expression behind the ceramic of his mug. Tony decided to let it go. “Does that caffeine even do anything for you?” Peter contemplated for a moment and then responded.</p><p>            “I mean, if I drink a couple pots, it sometimes gives me a little kick,”</p><p>            “So why do you bother if it takes you so much to get any results?” Peter looked wryly at Tony for a moment.</p><p>            “It makes me feel like I’m apart of something. Some people drink alcohol socially, I drink coffee socially. I saw you with your cup and I felt left out, so, naturally…” Peter snarked.</p><p>            “Oh, naturally,” Tony nodded sagely, taking a sip of his own coffee, which Peter promptly copied. Tony rolled his eyes. “You’re a weirdo, kid,”</p><p>            “That’s been established already, catch up,”</p><p>            For a moment, Tony was transported back to before the blip. They were comfortable, making snarky comments to one another. As per usual, the moment passed, and Peter seemed to freeze up slightly, seeming to realize he had let his guard down.</p><p>            “Well, um, I’m gonna…” Peter picked up his coffee and gestured at the stairs. Tony blinked and grasped at reasons for Peter to stay.</p><p>            “Hey, why don’t you help me make breakfast? I wouldn’t mind the company, and you know, don’t wanna drink your coffee alone, do you?” Peter looked hesitant for a moment, eyes darting towards the stairs. If Tony could have crossed his fingers without Peter seeing, he would have. Peter bit his lip, and Tony could almost see the gears turning in his head. After what felt like ages, Peter set his cup down.</p><p>            “Yeah, yeah ok. What are we making?”</p><p>            Tony sang a silent hallelujah chorus but by some miracle, he was able to play it cool.</p><p>            “Umm, how about a frittata?” Peter shrugged.</p><p>            “Sure, sounds good to me,”</p><p>            The two of them got to work, chopping vegetables and scrambling eggs, settling into a rhythmic silence. It was slightly tense, but nothing like it had been. The silence was no longer suffocating, just a little uneasy. Peter chopped carrots to add to the filling and Tony added milk to the mixture. Tony glanced at Peter and cleared his throat.</p><p>            “So, is there a…reason you’ve been…avoiding me? Lately?” Tony asked nervously, not realizing how loaded that question sounded. Peter held his knife just above the carrots, pausing. He stared blankly at the vegetables. After a few beats too long, he continued to chop.</p><p>            “Avoiding you? What do you mean? I haven’t been avoiding you,” Peter tried and failed to make it sound casual. His voice came across as tight instead of the easy-going quality he was going for. Tony tried to act nonchalant.</p><p>            “I don’t know, you just…haven’t been around a lot, kinda seemed like you were avoiding me, wanted to see if I had done anything,” Tony pulled off the fake indifference far better then Peter. Peter sighed and put down his knife. He turned to face Tony and leaned on the counter. He crossed his arms loosely.</p><p>            “Look, I…” Peter paused. “I’m not avoiding you, I’ve…I’ve just been busy, and…” He stumbled over his words, not exactly sure what to say, because, purposeful or not, he <em>had</em> been avoiding Tony. Peter tapped his foot and ran a hand through his hair. Tony stood patiently waiting for Peter to finish his thought. Peter sighed.</p><p>            “Look, maybe I have been…sort of avoiding you,” Tony visibly deflated. “No, no, no. Tony, just. It’s not anything you’ve necessarily ‘done’, I’m just. Trying to figure my shit out ok?” Tony nodded, not saying anything. He had been silently hoping he was being dramatic. Peter eyed Tony and worried his lip. He wasn’t trying to hurt Tony; he just didn’t want to lie. He sighed and went back to his carrots. The silence that had been moderately comfortable before, shifted into yet another awkward silence. Peter’s response had only served to confuse Tony further. If he hadn’t ‘done’ anything, what was going on? Once they had finished the frittata and it was in the oven, Peter decided to go get dressed. Before he could leave, Tony stopped him.</p><p>            “Hey, uh, Pete? Do you want to do something today? Maybe after breakfast, we could—” Before Tony could finish Peter interrupted, sounding apologetic.</p><p>            “Oh, sorry Tony, I, um actually already made plans with Alexa today, so…” Tony nodded slightly, avoiding eye contact with Peter. “Um…sorry,” With that, Peter booked it upstairs to escape Tony’s hurt gaze. Tony reached for his mug and brought it to his lips. Huh, it was empty. The empty cup brought him neither familiarity nor comfort. He reached for the pot to refill his cup. Coffee would never change.   </p><hr/><p>            After Peter had gotten dressed and ate breakfast, (shortly after his conversation with Tony, everyone else had joined the party), he made his way into town to meet Alexa at “Snapshot”. They had plans to go kayaking down the coast. He had never been kayaking before, so he was sure it would be interesting, especially with Alexa. They had hit it off so well the first time they had hung out that this was already their third date. Peter arrived at the store and walked in. Alexa was behind the counter trying to put a new sample still on one of their high shelves behind the register. Peter headed over to where she was struggling to arrange the display.</p><p>            “Hey, you need some help with that?” Peter asked. Alexa jumped and dropped the picture. She turned to Peter and shook her head.                                                                                                   </p><p>            “You walk so freaking quietly,” Peter grinned sheepishly.</p><p>            “Sorry,” Alexa just smiled softly and rolled her eyes as she picked up the display. Though she was smiling, her expression was tight, stressed.</p><p>            “Are you ok?” Peter asked. She shrugged.</p><p>            “Tell ya the truth, I’m kinda slammed. I’ve gotta get a couple displays up, plus I’ve got a delivery for Phil with all this equipment he needs, plus I’ve got other stuff I need to do in the office, so…I don’t know if we can go kayaking today, sorry Peter, I really want to, I just didn’t realize how busy I’d be,” Alexa finished looking at Peter apologetically, eyebrows creasing.</p><p>            “Oh okay, no worries,” Peter said nodding, trying not to look disappointed. Alexa bit her thumbnail and frowned. And then she brightened.</p><p>            “Hey, I’ve got an idea! If you could make my delivery to Phil for me, I could finish up here, and we could go kayaking after! I mean…only if you wanted to, obviously,” Alexa finished, biting her nail again.</p><p>            “Oh yeah, I could totally do that, I’d love to help you out. Phil’s the one you lived with after the snap, right?” Alexa nodded.</p><p>            “Yeah. He still does some old fashioned photography though, so I deliver stuff weekly, lemme run down to the basement and grab his stuff,” Alexa went around the counter and walked towards an inconspicuous white door at the back of the store, which Peter assumed led to the basement. “I’ll text you his address so you can just map it out—oh!” She turned to face Peter once again. “Do you have a car?” Peter shook his head. “You have your license though, right?”</p><p>            “Yeah, I mean I’ve only driven like, twice, cause I live in New York but yeah, I’ve got a license,”</p><p>            “Ok, no problem you can just borrow my car then,” She held up a finger to gesture for him to give her a second as she opened the door and walked down a set of stairs. A couple of minutes later, she emerged from the basement with a paper bag that had a camera on it and said “Snapshot”. The top of the bag was folded over and stapled shut. She also had a set of keys in her hand.</p><p>            “Ok, here’s his delivery, and I just texted you the address, it’s only like twenty minutes there,” As if to confirm, Peter’s phone buzzed in his pocket.</p><p>            “Sounds good,” Peter said, hands in pockets.</p><p>             Alexa handed Peter the bag and the keys. Then she gestured towards the front door so she could show him her car. Once they were out in the parking lot, she walked over to an old, yellow jeep wrangler.</p><p>            “This is Daisy, she’s a little eccentric, but she’s a good car,” Alexa said, patting the cars door. Peter chuckled a little.</p><p>            “Your car's name is Daisy?” He asked, a small grin dancing on his face. Alexa’s eyes smiled, and she just nodded her head.</p><p>            “Hey, thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it, you’re a lifesaver,” She said, giving peter a side hug to avoid knocking the bag out of his hands. Peter hugged her back and said that it was nothing and that he was happy to do it. When she let go, she started to walk away.</p><p>            “So, kayaking when you get back, oh and if Phil asks, just say you’re helping me out, thank you!” Alexa yelled behind her as she walked back inside. Peter opened the car door and put the bag on the passenger seat. He closed the door and started typing the address Alexa had sent him into his maps app. Peter set his phone in the cup holder and put the key in the ignition. He took in the interior of her car. It smelled slightly of ammonia, like she had just taken a bucket of it and cleaned her car. That smell was masked by the strawberry air freshener that hung from the rearview. It was very clean. Peter turned on the car and put it into gear. He said a silent prayer, hoping he would remember how to drive.</p><p>            As promised, the trip was about twenty minutes long. He arrived at a small, beat down, blue house, and parked the car. Peter grabbed the paper bag and walked up to the porch. He pressed the doorbell and waited. After a few seconds, the door was answered by a tall, chubby man with a receding hairline. That must be Phil.</p><p>            “Hello sir, um I’m helping Alexa out and, um, here,” Peter held out the bag to Phil. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was so nervous, but he guessed it was because he’d never met this guy, and he was never the best with new people. The man took the bag and gave Peter a half-smile.</p><p>            “Thanks, appreciate it, tell Alexa hi for me,” With that, the man closed the door, and Peter walked back to the car to drive back to the store. He found it was much easier to drive in South Carolina than New York.</p><hr/><p>            When Peter got back to the store, instead of being greeted by Alexa, he ran into who he guessed was Mister Cook. The tall, middle-aged man was unboxing new merchandise at the counter when he walked in. So as to not startle the man like he had startled Alexa, he cleared his throat. Mister Cook turned around abruptly and smiled at him.</p><p>            “Hello, can I help you find anything?” He asked jovially.</p><p>            “Oh, no, I don’t know if Alexa has mentioned me, but I’m, I’m Peter Parker, we were going to go kayaking,” The man nodded his head at the familiar name.</p><p>            “Ah, you’re Peter! I’m Mathew Cook, her dad,” He held out his hand to shake Peter’s. Peter took it.</p><p>            “Uh, nice to meet you, Mister Cook,” Mister Cook nodded.</p><p>            “Alexa’s down in her darkroom, she’s developing some pictures, but she should be up any minute,” Almost before he finished his sentence Alexa came through the basement door.</p><p>            “Hey, Peter! You met my dad?” Peter nodded. “Cool, you ready to go?” Alexa asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder and gesturing towards the door.</p><p>            “Yeah, uh, it was nice meeting you Mister Cook,” Peter said, handing Alexa her keys.</p><p>            “Nice meeting you too, Peter, have fun!” They both walked out the door and got into the car. Alexa clicked her seatbelt on in the driver’s seat and turned to Peter, clasping her hands.</p><p>            “So, I don’t actually have kayaks, but a little way down the coast there’s a guy that rents them, and I know him so we can get ‘em cheap. That ok?”</p><p>            “Yeah, totally, that’s fine with me,” Peter nodded, clicking his own seatbelt on. Alexa smiled a wide, happy smile.</p><p>            “Awesome,” She turned back to the steering wheel and turned on the car. “Thank you again, by the way, you really helped me out today,”</p><p>            “No problem, I’d help you out any time,” Peter said as they turned out of the parking lot. Alexa giggled.</p><p>            “I thought New Yorkers were supposed to be jerks, how’d you end up being so nice?” Peter blushed scarlet.</p><p>            “Um, I’m, not…” Peter stumbling over his words made Alexa giggle more.</p><p>            “You are so cute,” Alexa might as well have paralyzed Peter because he froze up. He wasn’t sure how to react to compliments. Alexa, unphased, changed the subject abruptly.</p><p>            “So, how’re things with your fam?” Alexa was well aware of the challenges Peter had this summer because in many ways she had them too. Sure, her dad had been back for a few months, but now that school was out, there was a lot more uninterrupted family time. Peter snickered.</p><p>            “Eh, the same. My uncle thinks I’ve been avoiding him,” Peter referred to Tony as his uncle with Alexa for two reasons. One, he couldn’t even <em>begin</em> to explain his complicated relationship with Tony to her, and two, he couldn’t exactly say “Oh yeah, I’m spending the summer with Tony Stark, let me complain about it,”. Alexa side-eyed him.</p><p>            “Uh…haven’t you?”</p><p>            “…Maybe. I just…need to figure my shit out,” Peter said, shrugging.</p><p>            “Don’t we all,” Alexa joked. Peter chuckled. They shared a pleasant silence.</p><p>            “Can I turn on some music?” Peter asked.</p><p>            “Sure, as long as it’s country,”</p><p>            “You’re a country girl, huh?”</p><p>            “Of course, it’s good music, you can’t disagree,”</p><p>            “I mean, ok, I can make that work,” Peter said reaching for the aux cable. Alexa looked at him, smiling. Peter smiled back.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope everyone enjoyed! See you next week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! First off, sorry I'm a little late posting, finals are next week and I'm trying to get some semblance of studying done, so sorry about that! Second, I want to thank everyone that's commented, I honestly appreciate it so much and it definitely keeps me writing. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Peter heard a knock on his bedroom door. Alexa had just dropped him off after their kayaking trip and he had gone upstairs to change his clothes. He had tipped his kayak right as they were getting out at the dock, so he was completely soaked. He had done so well too. Well…before he capsized his kayak and fell in the water. Oh well, you win some you lose some. He finished pulling on a t-shirt and leaned over to grab the doorknob to see who was knocking. Peter opened the door to reveal Pepper standing patiently outside his door. She gave him a small smile.</p><p>            “Hey, how was your date?” Pepper asked. Peter let go of the doorknob and walked back over to his dresser to get his phone, talking over his shoulder to Pepper.</p><p>            “It was really great, I mean, I tipped my stupid kayak, but other than that it was awesome,” Peter said, grinning widely. He picked up his phone and pocketed it. He would have to make sure it was working right later. When Peter fell in, so did his phone, and everything else, so he was crossing his fingers that his phone still worked. Pepper nodded knowingly and leaned on the door frame.</p><p>            “That’s awesome kiddo, I’m glad you met someone you can hang out with this summer and have fun with,” Pepper said. Peter nodded, cheeks glowing with his new tan and his obvious happiness. Pepper looked like she had more to say. Peter cocked his head to one side questioningly.</p><p>            “Are you going to be around tomorrow?” Pepper asked offhandedly.</p><p>            “Uh…” Peter hesitated for a moment. Pepper still leaned against the door frame, looking just as casual as ever. Peter wasn’t sure if she was doing it on purpose, but her eyes stared deep into his soul and all of the sudden, he felt very, very guilty for ditching everyone for the last few days. “Yeah, I’ll be around why?”</p><p>            “We were gonna maybe go see a movie and go to this museum Harley found, and we wanted you to come too,” Pepper replied.</p><p>            “What museum?”</p><p>            “I think Harley said something about a rice museum? I’m not really sure, he thought it would be cool,”</p><p>            “A rice museum?”</p><p>            Pepper just shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess rice was a big thing back in the day? Who knows, just be available okay? I’m glad you’re hanging out with Alexa, but don’t forget the people downstairs who are feeling…shall we say, slightly neglected?”</p><p>            Peter rolled his eyes and leaned on the dresser. “Neglected huh? That sounds like a weird look on Harley,” Pepper looked amused.</p><p>            “Nah, he wears it well,” Pepper raised her eyebrows and turned to leave. “but Tony doesn’t pull it off quite as well,” She then proceeded to exit the room and close the door behind her.</p><p>            Peter sighed. He’d have to cancel his plans with Alexa the next day. And probably for the rest of the week. Pepper was right, and he knew it. He pulled out his phone to text her. He clicked the on button and his phone blinked to life, looking like it was having a seizure. The screen blinked rapidly, telling Peter his phone was probably toast. He was just able to send off a text to Alexa before his phone shut off. Peter sighed again. Maybe some rice would help?</p><hr/><p>            The next day, they left the house late in the morning and got to the museum when it opened at 11 am. Tony disguised himself with a baseball cap and a ridiculous, straggly looking costume beard to cover his iconic go-tee. It…sort of worked, it just had the adverse effect of making him look slightly like a deranged old man and made Morgan collapse in fits of giggles periodically. They had been there for a grand total of 30 minutes when Peter began to regret canceling on Alexa. He didn’t regret it because it was awkward, or because of the mind-numbing boredom this rice museum was causing him. He didn’t even regret it because Tony was throwing him weird looks. No.</p><p>            He regretted it because Harley was doing everything in his power to be a pest.</p><p>            “Can I pleeeease meet your new girlfriend?”</p><p>            “No,”</p><p>            “Why not?” Harley asked for the millionth time, as they walked past yet another display of old, odd-shaped farming tools. Peter turned to Harley and talked slowly and articulately.</p><p>            “Because you don’t take anything seriously, and you’ll probably offend her with a stupid pun or something,” Peter said, walking towards a display of different types of rice.</p><p>            “Oh boo,” Harley threw up his arms and looked at the display with Peter. “Puns are the highest form of humor, the skill it takes to properly execute a good pun is unmatched with any other form of comedy,”</p><p>            Choosing to ignore Harley, Peter read one of the cards under a jar of rice labeled “Carolina Gold Rice”.</p><p>            …<em>Named for its amber-colored hull, this grain was the most valued variety raised in the South Carolina Low country.</em></p><p>Peter felt sorry for whoever had to write cards about rice. He turned to look at Harley who seemed to be looking at each jar with deep interest.</p><p>            “Harley.” Harley looked up from the rice jars and towards Peter. “Why, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, why <em>the hell</em> are we in a rice museum?” Peter asked in a very calm voice, clasping his hands together. Harley grinned widely.</p><p>            “Because, Parker, its <em>History</em>!” Harley spun around, pointing at various displays. When he stopped spinning, he crossed his arms and cocked his head at Peter, still grinning. Peter’s face was blank. Harley blinked. Peter blinked.</p><p>            “Sooo, can I meet your girlfriend?”</p><p>            “Dammit, Harley,”</p><p>            “Whaat, I want to be involved in your liiiife,” Harley drug out his words and draped an arm around Peter's shoulder. They looked at the rice display once again. They were silent for a moment. After a couple of minutes of staring blankly at jars of rice, Harley slowly turned his head to look at Peter.</p><p>            “This place is super boring,” Harley whispered. Peter promptly snorted and rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “You’re the idiot that picked it,”</p><p>            “To be fair, there’s only like six museums in the entirety of Georgetown, so it’s not like I had that many options,” Harley said, shrugging. Peter sighed.</p><p>            “So, you chose the one on rice farming?”</p><p>            “Looking back now, I wish I hadn’t, but woulda, coulda, shoulda, am I right?” He asked removing his arm from around Peter’s shoulders and punching him lightly on the arm. With that, he walked away, not looking back, but going into the next room of the museum. Literally two seconds later, Peter’s now asthmatic phone (due to the water damage) buzzed.</p><p>
  <strong>            Harley: So, me, you, Alexa, bowling amiright?? Third-wheeling is my jam!</strong>
</p><p>            Peter shook his head and shoved his convulsing phone back in his pocket. As much as Harley annoyed him sometimes, and as much as he really wanted to strangle him on occasion, he guessed he sort of liked Harley. Sort of. He was the big brother Peter never had, and Peter was glad Tony had introduced them. The sight of Morgan dragging Pepper behind her to go look at some weird exhibit of a wooden tool interrupted his thoughts. At least Morgan was enjoying herself, though he had no idea how any five-year-old could find any interest in this type of thing. A person came up beside him, and Peter figured he had been standing in front of the rice jars for long enough. He murmured an apology and moved out of the way.</p><p>            “Kid, it’s me,”</p><p>            Peter looked at the person closer. It was Tony in his disguise. Apparently, Tony had added a pair of shades to his outfit while Peter hadn’t been paying attention.</p><p>            “No offense Tony, but you look like you’ve been living under a bridge with that beard,” Peter smirked gesturing at the stringy beard.</p><p>            Peter couldn’t see Tony’s expression under the sunglasses, and the mess of grey-brown hair that covered his face, but he assumed it was probably one of mock offense.</p><p>            “Speak for yourself Pete, you’re the one that hasn’t gotten a haircut in forever,” Peter laughed.</p><p>            “My goal is to grow my hair long enough to put in a man bun, be a hipster, ya know?” Peter said running a hand through his medium length hair. Peter was sure Tony rolled his eyes behind his dark shades. Peter was far from having a man bun, and he never would. How could he be spiderman with a man bun? Poke a hole through the back of his mask?</p><p>            To Peter’s surprise, the wave of awkwardness that usually accompanied conversations with Tony didn’t come. Maybe it was getting better? Maybe the never-ending parade of awkwardness between them could stop?</p><p>Even though there was a little voice at the back of Peter’s head that told him it wouldn’t last, that stupid little voice that kept dragging his insecurities out of the closet, saying Tony was just being nice, that Peter actually didn’t belong, even though the incessant voice that sounded an awful lot like Thanos kept poking at Peter’s doubts, for once…he was able to ignore it. Maybe not forever, maybe not even for the rest of this week, but for now, he could ignore it.</p><p>            For the first time since they had gotten to South Carolina, Peter decided to give Tony a hug. He gave Tony a quick hug and let go. He gestured to the other part of the museum where the rest of their group had gone.</p><p>            “Shall we?”</p><p>            Apparently, Tony was a little shocked because he just kind of nodded and followed Peter into the other half of the museum.</p><p>            Sometime in between looking at dull exhibits and Harley dropping as many puns as possible to try and convince Peter they were funny; Peter came up with an idea.</p><p>            “You know what would be cool?” Peter asked Tony.</p><p>            “What would be cool?” He responded, trying to wrangle an energetic Morgan AND listen to Peter. Tony was starting to think that someone had spiked Morgan’s oatmeal with a Red Bull.</p><p>            “Having, like, an end of the summer party with everyone,” Peter said vaguely. Tony frowned.</p><p>            “Who’s everyone? May, Helen, and Jules are coming out for the fourth of July,”</p><p>            “No, no, no, you’re not getting me, I mean everyone! Like the Barton’s, Wanda, Shuri, Bruce, Scott, Dr. Strange, you know, everyone! Wouldn’t that be awesome to throw like an end of summer party? Down here in South Carolina?” Tony raised his eyebrows at Peter.</p><p>            “That’s a lot of people,”</p><p>            “But think of how awesome that would be!”</p><p>            Harley overheard their conversation and jumped in.</p><p>            “Oh duuuuude, that would be so awesome, I could meet Ant-Man,”</p><p>            “That might not work out, they might have other plans,” Tony said. Peter shrugged.</p><p>            “I dunno, it was just a thought,” Peter walked over to another display and Harley followed.</p><p>            “Peter,” Harley said in a long-suffering voice,</p><p>            Peter looked like he didn’t really want to answer.</p><p>            “Yes?” Peter asked reluctantly.</p><p>            “Why do you hate me?” Harley asked looking distraught in the most insincere way possible.</p><p>            “Fine, Harley if you promise to not make a SINGLE pun, I will introduce you to Alexa, you happy?” Harley grinned wide and slung an arm around Peter's shoulders.</p><p>            “Deal,”</p><p>            Tony grinned. As boring as the rice museum was, he had his family and that made him happy.</p><hr/><p>          </p><p>            Tony sat in the living room scrolling through his phone. They had all gotten home a couple of hours ago from seeing some new cartoon that had just come out and the sun was just starting to go down. It had been a good day, besides the terribly uninteresting museum. Peter seemed to come out of his shell, Harley was snarky, and Morgan had been full of energy all day. All in all, a success.  Now Harley and Peter were off doing who knows what on the beach, and Morgan fell asleep on the way home, so she was in bed. Pepper was upstairs taking a shower.  </p><p>            Tony thought of Peter’s idea for a party at the end of the summer. In theory, that could be a lot of fun. It sounded like a lot of work, but it could be a really cool thing, to be able to say “Hey guys! We made it through the first summer after getting everyone back! Hurrah!”</p><p>            He liked the idea, they just might not be able to have <em>everyone, </em>everyone. Just…almost everyone. Pepper had liked the idea too. That meant they would have to start calling people soon. Well. Might as well start now. Tony clicked his contacts list and searched for ‘Clint Barton’. He had been meaning to call Clint anyway, and now was as good a time as any. He pressed call. After three rings, the call was picked up.</p><p>            “Hey Tony, how’s it going?” Clint said, sounding relaxed.</p><p>            “Hey, not too bad, been awhile, huh?”</p><p>            “Yeah been forever. It’s like you call me once and then throw your phone in the ocean for three months, and honestly, I’m really offended,” Clint said sarcastically. Tony smirked and rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Yeah well…I’ve been busy, and you know what’s funny? Phones work both ways, it’s crazy,” Tony said.</p><p>            “Well…maybe I threw my phone in the ocean too. Or maybe we’re just busy actually spending time with our families, imagine that,” Clint said. Tony laughed. Clint continued. “How is that by the way? How’s your summer going? You with Peter?”</p><p>            Tony rubbed his face. “Yeah, Pepper and I decided to take Morgan, Peter, and Harley down to South Carolina for the summer. It’s been. An adventure? Peter’s been super distant which really sucks, cause he barely talks to me, and I’m pretty sure Harley is just coping with his sarcasm and not talking about it, so there’s that,” Clint let out a puff of air.</p><p>            “Well, I mean, can you blame him for being distant? The kids had a lot of trauma. And sarcasm is how you cope too, so,” Clint said seriously. Tony sighed.</p><p>            “Yeah…Not saying sarcasm is a great coping mechanism…And I know he has, but I can’t exactly help him with that if he won’t talk to me about it,” Clint was quiet for a minute.</p><p>            “You know, I’ve been reading some parenting books this summer—”</p><p>            “Oh, fabulous, parenting books,”</p><p>            “Shut it Tony, it’s what you do when you need advice—” Tony interrupted again.</p><p>            “I thought you called me for advice,” Clint sighed heavily.</p><p>            “Tony…”</p><p>            “Ok, ok, I’m listening, you’ve been reading some parenting books this summer,” Tony prompted. Clint started.</p><p>            “I’ve been reading some parenting books this summer to help me with Cooper and Lilah, and it says,” There was a sound of rustling of paper over the phone. “it says that <em>teens who distance themselves from you, are often trying to work through emotional problems on their own, and the best thing to do is let them come to you. </em>Or you know, along those lines,” Tony blinked slowly.</p><p>            “…You needed a parenting book for that?”</p><p>            “Okay, fine yeah it’s stupid, but honestly they’re probably right. You just need to give him time. I mean, truthfully this book didn’t do jack for my kids, cause honestly they’re really clingy, you know except for when I need help with something and then they’re out, but you know, for Peter it’d be perfect,” Clint rambled. “It’s called “Trying to hug a distant teen”, you should probably check it out,” Clint stated. There was a brief silence.</p><p>            “Clint, I…” Tony paused, “So many things, first of all, is that title supposed to be clever, cause it sucks, and also you and I both know I’m not reading parenting books,” Clint sighed.</p><p>            “Yeah, I know,” Tony gave a halfhearted laugh.</p><p>            “I know you’re right. I know I need to give him time, but it’s hard to do that you know? I just want to help, and he won’t let me, and it sucks honestly,” Tony said, changing the previous lighthearted conversations mood into a more serious one.</p><p>            “Yeah, I get it. It’s hard. I’m not denying it, but you guys will be ok. He loves you, he’ll come around. <em>Let them come to you </em>as the book says,”</p><p>            “I know. You’re right,” Tony said thoughtfully. Then he added; “Clint, I don’t know what the public would think if they knew Hawkeye read parenting books,”</p><p>            “They’d think I’m awesome,” Tony hummed in response. After a moment's silence, Tony came out of his thoughts and remembered what he had actually called about in the first place.</p><p>            “So, before this turned into a conversation about parenting, I had a goal for this conversation,”</p><p>            “Oh? What was that?”</p><p>            “You guys like parties?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! By the way, there is actually a rice museum in Georgetown, South Carolina if you're interested. It kind of reminded me of this sugarcane museum I went to in Hawaii...very...very boring...Anyway. Hope you enjoyed, see you next week! :))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Heyy! Sorry, I know, I know, it's late, but I finished up with all my finals this week so, I'm home free! I'll be posting on time next week, Tuesday or Wednesday! Thanks for the comments and kudos on the last chapter, enojoy! :))</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            A warm, salty breeze blew over the dark South Carolina beach. Big, bright stars shined in the cobalt sky only to be dimmed by the occasional helicopter or cloud. In stark contrast to the peaceful, quiet atmosphere of the beach, loud laughter boomed from a small pier that protruded from the beach. Peter and Harley sat at the end of that pier, and Harley laughed so loudly that it surely scared the fish and any wildlife that may have had the misfortune to be sleeping while Harley Keener found something funny. Now, what on earth would make him laugh so loudly on a quiet beach late in the evening? Well…</p>
<p>            Peter, insisting that it was low tide, had hung off the edge as far as he could to see when he would hit the water with his foot. To his utmost surprise, as he dangled from the pier with just his elbows holding him up, a rather large and unforgiving wave came up when he least expected it and soaked him, leaving only his head untouched. So maybe not low tide, just an ebb in the water. So, once Harley hoisted Peter back onto the safety and solidity of the pier, Harley did the obvious thing and broke into bouts of loud, uncontrollable laughter. Peter scowled at Harley and tried to wring the moisture out of the bottom of his shirt.</p>
<p>            “This isn’t funny, this is the second time in two days I’ve gotten drenched, and I’m starting to <em>really </em>hate the water,” Peter, giving up on his dripping t-shirt felt his pocket, and groaned. His asthmatic cell phone was sitting in his pocket. Harley’s laughs abated slightly.</p>
<p>            “Hey, you can’t blame this on me! I told you something like that would happen and that you shouldn’t do it, but you told me, and I quote: “Bitch, don’t tell me what to do,” and I was right so,” Harley shrugged. Peter merely glared and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Harley saw the dripping phone in Peter’s hands and facepalmed.</p>
<p>            “Dude! You did that with your freaking phone in your pocket?” Peter sighed heavily.</p>
<p>            “No, my phone is always wet, and it was actually up here the whole time,” Peter said sarcastically. He tapped his phone screen. To his surprise, it turned on but flickered anemically. Harley leaned over the phone.</p>
<p>            “Should have gotten some rice from the museum today, pro’lly woulda come in handy,” Harley speculated cocking his head at the phone. Peter closed his eyes. Peter wasn’t a violent person. He captured bugs in the house and let them out outside. But honestly, one more joke about rice and he was gonna strangle Harley. He opened his eyes and shoved the phone into his pocket. He sat down on the pier, this time choosing not to put his legs over the side. Harley just snickered and sat down across from Peter. The two were quiet for a moment and looked up at the sky. Peter broke the silence.</p>
<p>            “How’s your mom and Jules, you heard from them?” Peter asked, still looking at the sky. Harley snorted.</p>
<p>            “Dude. Jules has been sending memes since I got here, yeah I’ve heard from them,” Harley said sarcastically. Peter dropped his head and looked at Harley. Harley just smiled.</p>
<p>            “You’re an idiot. I meant, like, real words, you know, like, ‘hello’ or maybe ‘hey’, you know, words?” Harley rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I’ve heard from ‘em,” Harley said shortly, turning to look over the dark horizon. Peter frowned.</p>
<p>            “And?” Peter looked at Harley questioningly. Harley kept looking over the horizon. Peter nudged Harleys foot with his. “You good?” Harley looked at Peter blank-faced.</p>
<p>            “Look, lemme put it this way, I’m just glad I’m here, where I can silence my phone, so I don’t have to listen to my mom nagging me about school constantly, ok?” Harley said grumpily. Peter’s frown deepened.</p>
<p>            “Why is she nagging you about school, aren’t you doing fine?” Harley huffed.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I am, but I had the audacity to mention just getting my damn GED so I don’t have to put up with the bullshit anymore, so I can actually move on with my life, but no, she wants me to have the full high school <em>experience</em>,” Harley said mockingly. “I mean, for crying out loud I’m 18 freaking years old, my sister is going to college, I have approximately zero friends at school, and it’s just…stupid. I’m done,” Harley said, voice shaking. He looked up at the sky, careful to not make eye contact. This was obviously a sore subject. Peter stared at Harley for a moment.</p>
<p>            “You’re not 18 yet. You’re not 18 till October, and don’t you wanna finish school?” Harley snapped his head down to look at Peter.</p>
<p>            “I’m supposed to be 22, so I might as well round up to 18. My sister’s birthday was in May, she’s 18, she’s moving on, and <em>heaven </em>FORBID I do the same,” Harley went quiet and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down a little. “I just want to move on Peter, at least if I could take the GED, I could go to college, but she wants me to stay in school,” Harley said sharply. He ran his hands roughly through his hair and looked away.</p>
<p>            Peter wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t know Harley was that affected by his little sister growing up without him, but then again, Peter didn’t have a younger sibling, so he wouldn’t understand. He almost wished he wouldn’t have brought up Harley’s mom, but at the same time, it seemed like Harley had been struggling with this for a while and keeping it to himself probably wasn’t doing him any favors.</p>
<p>            “Harley…”</p>
<p>            Harley carded his fingers through his hair a couple more times and then looked back to Peter.</p>
<p>            “I’m good, sorry about that, I didn’t mean to get upset, I’m cool. Forget about it,” Harley plastered on a smile.</p>
<p> If you didn’t know him, that smile could be genuine. Harley was amazing at hiding his feelings.</p>
<p>But if you did know him, you would be able to see how it was just a bit too wide. It had a bit too much cheerfulness and it was just a <em>little</em> too straight.</p>
<p>Peter saw right through it.</p>
<p>“Harley—” Peter was interrupted.</p>
<p>“Hey, you know, it’s like ten, Tony’s probably gonna have an aneurism if we don’t head back soon, so lets rock ‘n’ roll,” Harley pointed down the pier and jumped to his feet. He held out a hand to help Peter up. Peter looked at Harley’s hand and then at his face. The plastered, fake smile was still there. Peter took his hand and stood up.</p>
<p>“Harley, it’s ok—”</p>
<p>“Hey, look it was stupid, ok? I’m totally fine, see?” Harley smiled extra big and gave Peter a thumbs up. “Let’s just go, ok?” He started walking down the pier. Peter stared at Harleys back. For a second, he just stood there. And then he sighed and started walking. Harley called behind him.</p>
<p>“Great time today, right? Rice, corny cartoon, it was chill, right?”</p>
<p>Peter shook his head, but let Harley change the subject.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it was fun, except for you pretending to be funny,”</p>
<p>“Hey! I’m hilarious, watch this. What did one rice say to the other rice on a date?” Harley walked backward waiting for Peter to answer. Peter rubbed his face.</p>
<p>“I dunno, nothing because they’re pieces of rice?” Peter speculated.</p>
<p>“Nope! You look very RICE! Get it?” Peter stared blankly at Harley. That had been the worst pun all day. “You get it? Instead of nice, rice, see?” Harley said expectantly.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I get it, I get it, I’m laughing. Just like, really, really deep on the inside,” Peter said looking at Harley. Harley smiled a crooked smile, a genuine one this time.</p>
<p>“I’ll take that as a victory, race you back to the house,” With that Harley hopped off the pier and took off down the beach before Peter could react. Peter ran after him, trying to catch up.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The next day, Peter texted Alexa about how Harley wanted to meet her. Of course, texting was made difficult because now his phone had been soaked twice, and it was taking its revenge by running incredibly slow and flickering spitefully. Luckily, they <em>did</em> have a box of minute rice which he left his phone in overnight, and that seemed to help slightly. He should really get a waterproof phone case or something.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Peter: Hey! Sorry I blew you off yesterday, family stuff, you know?</strong>
</p>
<p>Alexa took a few minutes to respond.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alexa: Hey, no you’re good, I get that </strong>
  <strong>😊</strong>
  <strong> You want to hang out today?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Peter: Yeah that would be great actually! The thing is…So, I’ve talked about Harley, right?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alexa: Yeah?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Peter: He really wants to meet you, and I was wondering if you would be down with a third wheel today…? Sorry, it’s a little weird</strong>
</p>
<p>Alexa didn’t respond. Maybe asking her to do that was overstepping. They <em>had</em> only been dating a week, and he was already asking her to meet a family member. Peter paced across his bedroom floor, fidgeting. He picked pillows up off his bed, only to put them down again repeatedly. Finally, after what felt to him like an hour, but was probably about fifteen minutes, his phone dinged.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alexa: Uh sure! We could do lunch? I’ve got some things to do at the store, and I have to run some stuff over to Phil, though…</strong>
</p>
<p>Peter texted back immediately.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Peter: Yeah, lunch sounds good, do you want me to take the stuff over again? That way you can get the stuff done at the store?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alexa: Sure, that’d be great! So, see you here in 10? Harley can meet us here once you get back? </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Peter: Sounds good to me!</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Alexa: </strong>
  <strong>😊</strong>
  <strong> thx!</strong>
</p>
<p>Peter put his phone in his pocket and walked downstairs where Harley was currently playing go-fish with Morgan on the couch. They sat cross-legged across from each other and, from what Peter could tell, Morgan was winning.</p>
<p>“Do ya have any twos?” Morgan asked, grinning toothily behind her cards. Harley sighed.</p>
<p>“You just got that two, didn’t you?” Harley asked. Morgan giggled. Harley forked over three twos, giving Morgan another match. Peter walked up behind the couch and leaned over the game observing both sides. Morgan had three matches, and Harley had one.</p>
<p>“Nice going, Mo,” Peter held up a hand for a high five. Morgan put all her cards in one hand and slapped Peter’s hand. Peter turned to Harley.</p>
<p>“What, no high five for the loser?” Peter rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>“No. You wanna have lunch with Alexa and me?” Peter asked Harley. Harley smiled.</p>
<p>“Sure, when?”</p>
<p>“I’ll text you, I’m gonna head over there now cause I’m helping her with something, but as soon as I’m done, I’ll text you, and we can all go for lunch somewhere,” Harley nodded his head.</p>
<p>“Ok, cool, see you in a bit then,” Harley then turned back to his game with Morgan and Peter headed out the door.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter got to the store, and Alexa was waiting for him with the keys to her car and a paper bag, stapled shut, with a camera on it saying ‘Snapshot”. She handed him the keys and the bag. And then gave him a kiss on the cheek which made him blush a bright crimson.</p>
<p>            “Thanks for doing this, by the way! The person that used to help me out moved away, so it’s really nice of you,”</p>
<p>            “Oh, no problem. I’ll see you in a bit,” Peter said, turning to the door. He caught a whiff of ammonia. Hmm, maybe Alexa cleaned the store <em>and</em> her car with ammonia. The smell was pretty strong so he could still smell it when he got outside. He unlocked her yellow Jeep and opened the door. Still had an ammonia smell, but the strawberry air freshener wasn’t doing nearly as much to cover it up this time. Maybe his senses were just really heightened today? That probably wasn’t a good sign because that usually meant sensory overload was in his future. But he felt fine? Usually he felt a little more off if that was the case. He shook his head and decided to ignore it. He just needed to take this stuff to Phil so he could come back and hang out with Alexa and Harley. But he couldn’t quite shake an uneasy feeling.</p>
<p>Probably just a headache coming on from the ammonia.</p>
<p>            Peter drove to Phil’s and their interaction went pretty much the same as the previous time. Tall, chubby, receding hairline opened the door, said a thank you, and then closed the door. Peter hopped back into the Jeep. The smell was gone, thank goodness, but Peter already had a pretty horrendous headache. He shot a text to Harley that he should meet them at Snapshot in the next 20ish minutes, and he started driving back, all thoughts of weird smells and feelings gone.</p>
<p>            He got back to the store and parked the car. He got out and locked the door, and right as he was heading to the store, Harley came into view, turning the corner towards the shop.</p>
<p>            “Hey, Harley!”</p>
<p>            Harley turned his head, startled slightly. When he saw who it was, he waved. Peter walked up to him. Harley seemed to be giving him strange looks, but he often did this so Peter didn’t really think much of it.</p>
<p>            “Where were you?” Harley asked.</p>
<p>            “Oh, Alexa has camera deliveries she does for this guy, I was helping her out with it,” Peter jingled the keys in his hand to show Harley. Harley’s eyebrows creased, but he didn’t say anything. Peter gestured to the door of the store and they walked in. Alexa was standing by the counter, writing something down.</p>
<p>            “Hey Alexa,” Peter said. She looked up from whatever she was writing and smiled at him.</p>
<p>            “Hey!” Alexa said, smiling. Peter tossed her the keys and she caught them deftly. Peter walked over to her, Harley following not far behind.</p>
<p>            “This is Harley, Harley this is Alexa Cook,” Peter introduced them, leaning on the counter as they sized each other up. Harley had a crooked smile on as he reached out his hand to Alexa.</p>
<p>            “Alexa, like the Amazon AI?” Harley asked as he shook her hand. Peter groaned internally. Come on Harley…</p>
<p>            Alexa appeared to be unphased other than a brief flash of irritation in her eyes.</p>
<p>            “Harley, like Harley Davidson motorcycles?” She shot back. Harley’s smile became fixed. Peter turned a laugh into a cough.</p>
<p>            “Burn,” Peter coughed under his breath. They let go of each other’s hands. There was a brief silence before Peter stepped in.</p>
<p>            “So, uh what are we feeling? Burgers, fried chicken, pizza, Chinese food, what?” Alexa grinned at Peter.</p>
<p>            “Whatever you feel like.” She shrugged. Harley nodded at that.</p>
<p>            “Why don’t we just walk down main street and see what pops out at us, huh?” Harley suggested. They all agreed, so Alexa grabbed her bag, called to her dad who was stocking shelves that they were leaving, and they headed out.</p>
<p>            Now if Peter could shake this headache, he would be in good shape.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And the plot thickens...<br/>See you next week I hope you enjoyed! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Chapter nine! Thanks for all your comments, I always appreciate them! :) By the way, I wasn't completely happy with Tony's and Clint's conversation in Chapter 7 so I went back and rewrote that if you want to check that out. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harley and Peter walked home from lunch with Alexa. Neither of them said anything and Harley kept his eyes on his feet. He hoped if he focused on something as mundane as his own walking, it would distract him from his unease about the person he and Peter had just had lunch with. Left, right, left, right. He fixated on the rhythm of his walking, trying to not think what he was thinking, holding on to what little optimism he had. But…as he focused on his feet, the thoughts he was avoiding crawled through the cracks in the concrete. They skittered over his feet, up his legs and back and straight into his mind, outraged that Harley would consider ignoring them. Whether or not Harley wanted it to be true or not…the fact remained.</p>
<p>He did not like Alexa at all.</p>
<p>            Of course, on the surface, he supposed Alexa was nice. She smiled and laughed at all the right times and knew just what to say to make Peter melt, so what was the problem? Well…the problem was that Harley rarely only paid attention to the surface of a person. It was what went on behind a person’s eyes, inside a person’s mind that he truly looked at. And what he saw behind Alexa’s eyes unnerved him.</p>
<p>            Her grass-green eyes housed such an icy undercurrent of cold calculation, that it could have made Harley physically shiver. It was as if she wasn’t <em>quite</em> looking at a person when she looked at Peter, but at a tool to get something done. Like she was checking off boxes in her mind when she talked to him. Those icy eyes seemed to over-analyze every move Peter made, like she was saving him in a file for later use, and Harley <em>could </em>NOT <em>understand </em>how Peter didn’t notice it. It felt so obvious to him. Every move she had made during lunch put Harley on edge, and he didn’t understand. Peter was the one with the special danger detecting abilities, not Harley. What the hell was going on with Peter? How could he not see the neon warning signs that blinked in her eyes? Besides the fact that her body language at lunch had screamed “bad intentions” to Harley, he further failed to understand why she already knew so much about him. They had been dating a <em>week</em>. One, and she already knew so much about the last six months, stuff that Peter hadn’t even shared with Tony, like how he struggled with readjusting because his “Uncle” had a kid and Peter felt like he didn’t belong anymore. Why did she know that? That was something Peter hadn’t even worked through yet, and Alexa knew about it, Alexa, who he had met a week ago. And! And! Why was he delivering “camera equipment” to people for her? That didn’t make sense. The whole thing didn’t make sense, and Harley was worried. So worried, and so disappointed because he had wanted to like Alexa, wanted to be happy for Peter, but instead he felt sick.</p>
<p>            Harley felt Peter's eyes on the back of his head. Harley took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. If he freaked out at Peter, nothing would be solved and Peter would just pull away, probably back to Alexa, which he had decided was a really bad thing to be happening. He wasn’t sure what her intentions were, but he was positive they weren’t good. Harley took another deep breath and looked up at Peter with whatever smile he could muster. Peter had been staring at him.</p>
<p>            “So, that pho place was good,” Harley said, acknowledging one of the only things he had enjoyed from the afternoon. Peter grinned and nodded.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, glad we chose that place, it had really good food,” Peter said. Harley nodded while trying to configure his next sentence. He didn’t get a chance to put his next words in order because Peter spoke.</p>
<p>            “Isn’t Alexa awesome? Did you like her?” Harley nearly choked but recovered enough so that Peter didn’t notice.</p>
<p>            “Um, yeah, she seemed…nice,” He licked his lips. “Just…you know, you’re going home at the end of the summer, so you probably shouldn’t get too attached, you know?” Harley asked, glancing at Peter. Peter frowned.</p>
<p>            “What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter asked. Harley backtracked. He didn’t need Peter to be mad at him.</p>
<p>            “Hey no, I just…long distance relationships don’t usually work out, ya know? So, I just don’t want you to get hurt when you go home, yeah?” Harley said, deciding that playing it from that angle would be more effective than outright telling Peter he needed to drop Alexa now because she seemed evil. Peter seemed thoughtful for a moment.</p>
<p>            “I mean, she said she might be interested in coming out to New York, so I think we could make it work,” Peter said. Harley wanted to scream. Of course she had. That’s how manipulation worked. Harley kept taking deep breaths. He couldn’t lose it on Peter.</p>
<p>            “Okay, but still, you’ve only known her a week, maybe just take a step back, figure it out with Tony, hang out with the people you’re vacationing with?” Harley suggested, banking on the fact that Peter would probably feel guilty. Harley knew that was a shitty thing to do, but if it kept Peter from getting hurt, he didn’t care. To Harley’s surprise, Peter rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>            “I have been hanging out with you guys, what are you talking about? It’s not like I’m jumping into anything, I’ve just been hanging with her. And I am working things out with Tony, we’re fine,” Peter said, quirking his head at Harley. Harley closed his eyes for a second.</p>
<p>            “Ok, why are you making deliveries for her? I don’t get that. Why can’t whoever you're giving the stuff to, come get it themselves? What’s even in the deliveries?” Harley tried to keep his frustration at bay, but Peter's unwillingness to actually think about how weird the situation was, concerned Harley. Peter looked at Harley like he was unhinged.</p>
<p>            “Because I wanted to help her out? Maybe Phil has problems with mobility? I’m pretty sure it’s film development stuff, but it’s none of my business. What’s going on with you? Are you ok?” Peter asked, confusion fresh on his face. Harley ran a hand across his face.</p>
<p>            “I’m fine, Peter, I just don’t want you getting roped into something that you aren’t comfortable with, and I would just really appreciate it if, for my own sanity, you stop doing that for her, ok? Hang out with Tony and Morgan and me, it’ll be fun,” Harley pleaded. Peter looked at Harley.</p>
<p>            “What is this actually about? Are you mad at me for ditching you or something?”</p>
<p>Harley couldn’t believe how dense Peter was being. Why couldn’t Peter see how odd this was? For a brief moment, Harley wondered if Peter was right. He took stock of his emotions and his feelings towards Alexa.</p>
<p>Not once did jealousy make an appearance.</p>
<p>Peter may see the best in everyone, but he was wrong about Alexa.</p>
<p>“Peter, just don’t make the deliveries anymore, yeah? We’re leaving at the end of this summer, just…keep it in mind,” Harley looked imploringly at Peter. Peter raised an eyebrow at Harley.</p>
<p>“I really don’t get you right now,”</p>
<p>            Harley shrugged at Peter. Peter just shook his head and walked ahead. They were almost home.</p>
<p>            Harley didn’t understand how Peter didn’t sense something was off. Maybe he could sense it though.</p>
<p>            Maybe he could, but just wanted to ignore it.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            A dark room was penetrated by a small lamp that sat on a sleek metal table. A blonde-haired girl sat cross-legged on a desk chair talking quietly on a phone. The room smelt vaguely of ammonia and burnt chemicals and various bottles and beakers were strewn on the surfaces. The girl let out a bark of laughter.</p>
<p>            “Phil, come on, the kid’s so star struck with me he won’t question it,”</p>
<p>            A man’s quieter voice came through the phone.</p>
<p>            “You don’t know that. What makes you think he won’t eventually figure it out? If he figures it out, we’re screwed, I <em>told</em> you to stick with local people, those are the people that we have leverage over, ok—” The girl interrupted, rolling her eyes.</p>
<p>            “Hey look, I’ve got this. I’m working on something, I just need to get to his phone, and we’re set. He doesn’t even lock his phone, it’ll be cake. Plus, he’ll be super easy to rotate, cause he’s leaving at the end of the summer, way easier than getting them to move, right?” Phil said nothing. The girl continued, “and that’s if he ever figures it out, which is unlikely at best.” There was a sigh over the line.</p>
<p>            “Yeah. You’re right it is easier than getting them to move when people get suspicious, you just have to have something over him,”</p>
<p>            “Don’t worry, I have a plan. And he overshares everything, so I can figure something out if my initial plan doesn’t work, which it will,”</p>
<p>            “Okay. Just remember, having someone run the product to me keeps you clean. If they get caught taking it to me, they’re the one in possession, not you, you just have to make sure you’ve got a good story,” Phil said. The girl nodded to herself and began braiding a piece of her hair as she talked on the phone.</p>
<p>            “I know, I’ve got it covered. You moving that batch he gave you today?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah. It’s a really clean batch, by the way, you’re getting better, Alexa,”</p>
<p>            “Thanks! Learned from the best!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Little short, but quality over quantity. The next one will be longer! :)) See you next week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Down to the wire! It's 11:33 pm. here so I'm still technically on time! :) Much longer then last chapter as well! Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Peter woke up with an uncomfortable sensation of being on a rocking boat. He opened his eyes to see Morgan beaming while she bounced up and down on his mattress. Ah. That would be the rocking boat.</p>
<p>            “Gooood Morning!!!” Morgan shouted, still bouncing. “Yooouu sleep goooood?” She drug her words out as she bounced like she was trying to use all her breath on one word. Peter closed his eyes again and groaned.</p>
<p>            “Sure.” He said noncommittedly. He was hoping she would stop bouncing on his bed once he responded but he was wrong, in fact, it seemed like she bounced harder. He cracked his eyelid to look at her. She was smiling devilishly. He then turned his head to look over at Harley’s bed. Harley snored quietly while Peter was being tortured. Peter looked back at Morgan.</p>
<p>            “Hey, Morgan?”</p>
<p>            “Yeeeeahhh?”</p>
<p>            “You should go jump on Harley's bed.” Morgan looked like she was about to collapse from jumping so much.</p>
<p>            “I already diiiiid, he told me to jump on yoooours.” Why was Peter not surprised at all?</p>
<p>            “Oh, he did, huh?” Peter asked.</p>
<p>            “Yup!” Morgan collapsed on Peter’s bed, exhausted. Even the smiling unicorns on her purple pajamas looked tired. Peter sat up and looked at Morgan who was panting heavily. Then a tiny devilish grin of his own appeared on his lips.</p>
<p>            He started tickling her, and when Morgan realized what Peter was doing, it was too late for her to escape because she was giggling like crazy. She squirmed back and forth trying to break free but she was too incapacitated by her laughter to get away.</p>
<p>            “Stop… stop!” Morgan panted, still giggling. Peter relented, and sat back against his headboard, laughing. Morgan sat up too, smiling huge. She clambered across the bed right up to Peters bent knees and looked at him calculatingly. Then she gave him a hug. Well, more of a half-hug because Peter’s knees were in the way, but it was still tight. When she let go, she looked at him and said:</p>
<p>            “You know, you’re pretty fun.” Then, she got off his bed and walked out of the room like nothing had ever happened. Peter broke out in laughter. He hadn’t woken up to anything that weird for a while.</p>
<p>             Peter’s laughter ceased and he turned his head towards Harley’s bed. It was a mess of blankets, and Harley’s head was currently buried underneath his pillow, probably trying to block out the noise from Peter and Morgan, even though Harley was technically responsible for that. Peter sighed. It had been a week since Harley had expressed his clear dislike of Alexa. Peter wasn’t really sure what to make of the situation. On the one hand, he didn’t want Harley to feel like he was ignoring him, but on the other, Peter really liked Alexa, and she had been a great way to get his mind off of things. And he was happy to do a couple of errands for her, she had been so busy, why wouldn’t he help? Despite Harley asking him not to, Peter had told Alexa that he was happy to keep doing Phil’s deliveries till he left, but he hadn’t told Harley for obvious reasons. He just wished Harley could understand, but clearly Harley didn’t. Peter stared blankly at the wall above Harley’s bed. He supposed he never really had to tell Harley—<em>WHAP!</em></p>
<p>             A pillow came flying at Peter’s head, and he just managed to deflect it with his arm. The fluffy projectile fell limply to the ground. He looked from the pillow to Harley.</p>
<p>             Harley was no longer hiding from the world under his pillow but was propping himself up with his elbow and rubbing his eyes. Once he had kneaded the sleep out of his eyes, he yawned.</p>
<p>             “You’ve been starin’ at the same spot on the wall for ten minutes,” Harley stated groggily. Peter raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>             “How would you know? Your head’s been under the pillow you just chucked at me,” Peter responded. Harley cocked his head at Peter.</p>
<p>             “I’ve got x-ray vision, I thought you knew,” Harley said, looking at Peter with mock disbelief. Peter just rolled his eyes and stood up. He picked up the pillow from the ground and threw it back at Harley, who yelped indignantly when it hit him.</p>
<p>             “Thanks for sicking Mo on me,” Peter said, turning around to face the dresser to pull out some clothes. Harley sat up with his back on the headboard and shrugged.</p>
<p>             “I thought it would be a nice morning surprise,” Harley said. Peter hummed in response.</p>
<p>             “You wanna do something today?” Harley asked, stretching his arms. Peter bit the inside of his cheek as he dug through the drawer.</p>
<p>             “Umm…” Peter paused. “I’m…sort of hanging out with Alexa today,” He gave Harley a sideways glance to see his reaction. Peter internally groaned.</p>
<p>             Harley’s back had gone rigid and his face seemed to have drained of its good humor. He looked stone-faced at Peter.</p>
<p>             “Oh,” Harley said. Peter pulled out the clothes he was looking for and closed the drawer, all the while worrying the inside of his cheek.</p>
<p>             “Hey, um, I’m gonna be back later this evening though, so, do you want to do something then? Maybe we could chill with Tony too?” Harley’s stony expression didn’t change. He picked up his phone off the charger, threw off his blankets, and stood up out of bed, only a couple of feet away from Peter.</p>
<p>“Yeah, maybe. Who knows with you?” Harley sniped. He pulled open his drawer and grabbed some clothes without looking and hastily exited the room to go get dressed in the bathroom. Peter closed his eyes. He had been awake a grand total of <em>maybe</em> ten minutes, and he’d already managed to piss Harley off. Ugh. Was it such a crime to hang out with Alexa? He had made sure that he had made time for Harley, and everyone else in the last week, so honestly, what was the issue?</p>
<p>Peter sighed in frustration and rubbed his face. This was getting ridiculous. Right as some semblance of normality was starting to creep back into Peter’s life, something had to be an issue. He rubbed his face again and decided to not let it bother him. He would make sure to talk to Harley tonight, until then, he was going to try and ignore his problems. It might not have been the best course of action, but it should work for a day. He stood up to get dressed.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Harley stood in front of the small, old fashioned mirror in the bathroom, looking through his texts. It had been a bad morning.</p>
<p> On top of waking up to Peter planning on spending another full day with Alexa, a person Harley had gotten some seriously bad vibes from, his mom had texted him a class list for the fall semester, finishing an argument they had been having the previous night. He had fallen asleep before his mom and he had finished the conversation. That hadn’t been what he wanted to wake up to. He scrolled back to where the conversation had begun and re-read the messages for the fourth time.</p>
<p>            <strong>Mom: Hey Harley! I hope you’re having fun with the Starks and Peter. Listen, we’ve gotta sign you up for the fall semester so we need to talk about what classes you’re taking.  </strong></p>
<p>
  <strong>            Harley: I’ve been planning on taking the GED, so I don’t think I’m going to sign up for classes for the fall </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Mom: That’s ridiculous. You need to finish high school, it’ll give you closure, and I think it’s really important, so YOU ARE signing up for classes. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Harley: I don’t need closure; I need to move on</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Mom: Kid, everyone needs closure, it’s two semesters, you can do this! </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Harley: You sure you’re not the one that needs closure?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Mom: Yep, pretty sure as it happens. You’re taking the last two semesters, that’s it, period, end of story. Case. Closed. </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>            Harley: No, I’m not! That’s a waste of my time, I just want to take my GED so I can get into college! Why is that a bad thing?</strong>
</p>
<p>            Harley’s mother hadn’t responded after that, other than sending him a list of classes he needed to graduate. Harley squeezed his eyes shut after he read the messages. It wasn’t that complicated! Why did every decision he made have to turn into a fight? He slammed his phone down on the sink. Harley braced his hands on the cabinet.</p>
<p>            It was official. Today sucked. Harley wanted to crawl back into bed and try again tomorrow. Today? No, thank you. See you in 24 hours, and we’ll regroup and try again.</p>
<p>Harley scowled at himself in the mirror. He picked up his phone and roughly shoved it into his pocket as if the phone itself had done something to offend him. He ran a hand through his hair and took a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure. He was fine. Everything would be fine. Everything would work itself out.</p>
<p>            Yeah. That was <em>so</em> convincing.</p>
<p>            Harley shook his head to clear his thoughts and opened the bathroom door to go downstairs. As he was exiting the bathroom, he stubbed his toe on the door frame. Harley winced in pain. Add that one to ‘Bad Day Bingo’. He shook off the pain and started walking down the steps and into the kitchen. Morgan sat at the table, happily chowing down on some coco puffs, and Peter stood against the cabinet with Tony. Peter sipped coffee from a mug every now and then. Harley took a deep breath and walked to the fridge. He opened the door and grabbed a yogurt.</p>
<p>            “Good morning,” Tony greeted Harley as he took a sip from his mug. Harley tore off the foil lid of his yogurt.</p>
<p>            “Yeah,” Harley mumbled in response to Tony. His phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket.</p>
<p>Shit. He had cracked his screen when he had slammed it on the sink. Great.</p>
<p>He groaned as he opened his phone. Another text from his mom.</p>
<p>            <strong>Mom: You look over that class list I sent you?</strong></p>
<p>            “Good freaking morning to me,” Harley mumbled. Harley didn’t bother responding, he just shoved his phone back in his pocket and opened the silverware drawer roughly. Harley could feel Peter and Tony staring at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now. He selected a spoon and closed the drawer.</p>
<p>            “Everything ok Harley?” Tony asked, eyebrows creased.</p>
<p>            Harley pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t say something he would regret.</p>
<p>            “Yep, I’m fine,” He said in an emotionless voice. He leaned on the counter and started eating the yogurt. Tony still frowned, obviously not convinced. Peter raised his eyebrows and chugged the rest of his coffee. Peter set down his cup next to the sink.</p>
<p>            “Welp, I’m outta here,” Peter said. Harley prevented himself from making a sarcastic comment by taking another large bite of his food. Tony turned from Harley to Peter and frowned.</p>
<p>            “Where are you going?”</p>
<p>            “Alexa and I are going to hang out,” Peter said calmly. Tony’s frown deepened.</p>
<p>            “Are you coming back sometime today?” Tony asked. Peter appeared to be suppressing an eye roll.</p>
<p>            “Yes, this afternoon, can I go now?” Tony let his frown slip off as he sipped his coffee. He gestured at the door.</p>
<p>            “I don’t have much of a say, do I?” Tony said, somewhat bitterly. Peter sighed heavily.</p>
<p>            “Do you not want me to go? I guess I can cancel,” Peter said indignantly. Harley wanted to say, “Uh yeah, duh, cancel you, idiot,” but just finished his yogurt instead. Tony just shrugged and threw his hands up.</p>
<p>            “Peter, if you want to go, go, I’m not stopping you. I just thought I’d be seeing a little more of you, that’s all,” Tony said coolly. Peter stared at him for a minute before finally shaking his head and walking towards the front door. He called a goodbye over his shoulder and left. Tony sighed. Harley ran out of yogurt and stood up to throw away his trash. After staring at the door for a few seconds Tony turned back to Harley. Harley was scowling at the text on his phone again.</p>
<p>            “So, what’s going on with you?” Tony asked. Harley looked up at Tony and thought about spilling everything. How he didn’t like Alexa and thought she was sketchy, how he was upset with Peter for not listening to him, about how his mom was pushing him to finish the last two semesters of high school.</p>
<p>            For s split second he almost did.</p>
<p>And then he decided not to.</p>
<p>            If he told Tony about Alexa, Tony would get all tense, and probably call Peter and tell him to come back, which, no matter how much he wished Peter <em>would</em> come back, that would cause a ton of tension between Peter and Tony and probably him as well, probably unnecessary tension. Same problem if he told Tony why he was upset with Peter. If he told Tony about his school problems, he would probably just side with his mom, so it would just be frustrating. So, he didn’t say any of that. Instead, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and walked to the fridge again.</p>
<p>            “Nothing, I’m fine,”</p>
<p>            “Yeah? Usually you’ve made about ten sarcastic comments by this time in the morning, and I haven’t heard one,” Tony said, eyebrows raised.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, well, I guess I’m not in the mood…” Harley responded, looking blankly in the refrigerator.</p>
<p>            “Why aren’t you in the mood?” Tony pressed. And that was all Harley could take. It had been an awful morning, and he couldn’t take the questioning. He was tired of people pushing him to do or talk about things he didn’t want to. He closed the refrigerator door abruptly and spun around.</p>
<p>            “Because I’m not, okay? Is that okay? Can I not be in a good mood, or is Peter only allowed that privilege?” Harley asked, scathingly. He walked briskly towards the stairs and past Tony. He ran into a chair in his rush.</p>
<p>            “Gahhhh!” Harley yelled as he continued to walk upstairs, rubbing his arm where it had hit the chair. He reached the stairs, passed Pepper on the way up, and retreated to his room, leaving Morgan and Tony shocked in his wake.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Harley sped past Pepper up the stairs, muttering under his breath, and closed his door sharply behind him. Pepper blinked in confusion, and just stood on the steps for a moment before she continued walking down the stairs. She reached the kitchen to see Tony scowling into his coffee mug and Morgan staring up the steps in shock.</p>
<p>            “So, what did I miss?” Pepper asked. Morgan looked away from the stairs to look at Pepper and began to explain what happened with wide eyes.</p>
<p>            “Peter left, and Harley was upset about something and he got mad at Daddy for asking about it, and then he ran into a chair and went upstairs,” She said in one breath. She promptly went back to her coco puffs. Pepper put a hand to her face.</p>
<p>            “It’s barely ten…” She said, eyes closed. Tony set down his coffee cup on the countertop and clasped his hands together.</p>
<p>            “Yup, and I’ve already had two separate confrontations with my kids, do I get a prize?” Tony asked sarcastically, still scowling. Pepper dropped her hand to her side and walked towards the coffee pot to get a cup.</p>
<p>            “What’s the extended version of Morgan’s story?”</p>
<p>            Tony explained the events of the last ten minutes to Pepper, embellishing with several hand gestures.</p>
<p>            “And here I thought things were getting better, but it’s like Harley and Peter switched places, and I still feel like Peter isn’t here that much, and I’m even more confused at why Harley’s mad at <em>me</em>. I was trying to help, but apparently I should stop doing that,” Tony grumbled. Pepper stirred cream into her coffee and then turned to Tony, who had his arms crossed.</p>
<p>            “Tony, come on, don’t be melodramatic,” She sipped her newly doctored beverage and leaned over to pat Tony on the arm. She sipped her coffee again. Tony bit his fingernails. Pepper set down her cup and sighed.</p>
<p>            “I’m not even sure what to say, Tone’s. I want to say just wait and Harley will come to you, but at the same time, I’m not sure that’s the right call either. As for Peter, I can tell he’s been making an effort to not avoid you, so I would say you need to just keep being patient with Peter,” Pepper said. Tony picked up his mug.</p>
<p>            “I know, patience is a virtue and all that…” Tony sipped his coffee. “Unfortunately, I’m not always very virtuous, and if I don’t go to Harley first, he won’t come to me, but he won’t talk to me even if I initiate, so we’re at an impasse,” Tony finished. Pepper looked at Tony sympathetically.</p>
<p>            “I’m sorry. I would guess Harley’s wall of sarcasm is starting to crumble, and this morning was the result. I can try talking to him?” Tony shook his head.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, you could, don’t know if it’ll help but you could try. What about Peter though? He seems to really like this Alexa girl,” Tony said.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, he does. Harley met her last week, did he tell you what he thought about her?” Pepper asked.</p>
<p>            “Nope, sure didn’t,” Tony rubbed his head in frustration. “I don’t know, Pepper, I wish this situation came with a manual,” Pepper smirked.</p>
<p>            “I mean, Clint recommended parenting books…” She offered. Tony looked blankly at her.</p>
<p>            “Pepper, I’d love to see the parenting book that tells me how to deal with this situation,”</p>
<p>            “Eh, some of them get awful specific, who knows, you might stumble across just the right one,” Pepper replied, still smirking. Tony continued to stare blankly. Pepper gave Tony a hug.</p>
<p>            “Ok, so maybe no parenting books. Just give Harley a little space then go talk to him. Maybe talk to Peter while you’re at it—”</p>
<p>            “If I ever see Peter…” Pepper rolled her eyes and put a hand on Tony’s cheek, making eye contact.</p>
<p>            “It’ll be okay, yeah?” Tony sighed.</p>
<p>            “I have doubts,”</p>
<p>            “Tony,”</p>
<p>            “Okay, okay, yeah,” Tony relented. Pepper gave him another hug.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>           </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh dear, poor ironfam. I'm not a very nice author... Anyway, I went back to work this week which is super exciting! But, that also might mean I might be a tad late with chapters. I promise I'll do my best to get them up on time though! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Helllllo! Sorry about the wait, I would make excuses, but I'm sure you don't care, so please enjoy reading the next chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alexa stood behind the register doodling on a piece of receipt paper. She had drawn the base of a large sunflower and was now speckling the center of the flower with great enthusiasm. She paused to check the time on a large wall clock that hung behind the register. She let out a small sigh and went back to dotting the inside of her flower.</p><p>            She was waiting for Peter to arrive.</p><p>She had to figure out how to get ahold of Peter’s phone today.</p><p>Of course, she was very confident that what she had planned would go off without a hitch. She just had to separate him from his phone for a <em>few</em> minutes and she would be able to—</p><p>
  <em>CHIIIING!</em>
</p><p>The shop door swung open and the bell rang loudly, causing Alexa to jump suddenly and as a result, caused her to draw a rather large, ugly line through her otherwise almost finished drawing. She looked up at the person who had just entered the store. It was just the person she had been waiting for. She smiled slightly and put down her pen, not bothering to look at her now ruined drawing.</p><p>Peter was wearing a goofy grin and a ridiculous chemistry t-shirt which made her laugh. It made her hope he would never find out what he was actually delivering. She liked him, and she would rather not have to deal with the sub-optimal consequences of him finding out.</p><p>However, that still didn’t change the fact she had to make sure she <em>would </em>have a way of dealing with it, should he find out.</p><p>“Hi!” She exclaimed walking around the counter to where he was standing. Peter grinned wider and opened his arms for a hug.</p><p>“Hey! How’s it going?” Peter asked as he gave her a hug. She let go and hopped up onto the counter to sit down.</p><p>“Good, how are you?” She asked giving him a toothy grin. Peter shrugged in response and she nodded back knowingly.</p><p>“That good huh?” She asked. Peter just gave her another shrug. An idea popped into her head.</p><p>“How’s your phone doing? You know after it took a swim a couple times?” She asked casually. He chuckled and pulled his phone out of his pocket.</p><p>“You know, it’s doing better then I expected it to honestly, I mean, it hated me for a couple days but now it only spasms a bit on occasion…and maybe it’s a little blinky…but other than that, it’s totally fine,” He tapped the screen a couple of times and it turned on slowly.</p><p>“Still works, huh?”</p><p>“Yup. It’s just a little more temperamental than it used to be,” Peter said, trying to get his phone to blink again. Alexa looked on in interest. The phone blinked accommodatingly. Peter looked away from his phone to the slip of paper on the countertop. He put his phone down and picked up the paper.</p><p>“You draw this?” He asked, gesturing to the sunflower. Alexa eyed his phone and looked up at Peter.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s just a doodle though, plus I messed it up because I jumped when you walked in,” She replied jumping down from the countertop.</p><p>“Sorry,” Peter looked at her sheepishly. Alexa laughed.</p><p>“It’s fine! Like I said, just a doodle,” Alexa smiled and hooked her thumbs in her jean pockets. Peter nodded and put the slip back on the counter.</p><p>“Can I use your restroom before we head out?” Peter asked.</p><p>            “Go for it,” Alexa responded. Peter walked to the wall just to the back of the register and reached for the handle on a white door. Alexa jumped in alarm.</p><p>            “No!” Peter spun around looking confused. Alexa stumbled over her words for a moment. “Um…sorry, that’s uh, the basement, bathrooms over there,” She pointed at an almost identical door to the left side of the door Peter had almost opened. Peter blushed.</p><p>            “Oh, sorry, duh. Wasn’t paying attention, my bad,” Peter turned and opened the other door. The moment the door was closed, Alexa sighed and turned back to the counter, where Peter’s phone sat.</p><p>            She picked it up and swiped the screen.</p><p>            It was unlocked. Alexa smiled. Who didn’t have a passcode on their phone these days?</p><p>            By the time Peter came out of the bathroom, his phone sat on the counter again, as if it hadn’t been touched.</p><hr/><p>            Peter stretched in the evening sunshine. He had just said his goodbyes to Alexa and was now walking back to the house. It had been a fairly uneventful afternoon, as they had decided to just take a walk along the beach, and he had been left with a sunny, contented feeling. For as rough as the day had started off, he was pretty satisfied with the outcome. Of course, he hadn’t been home yet, so that could all change.</p><p>            He probably shouldn’t have left, but he was tired of talking about the weather with Tony. All he seemed to be able to do is make small talk with Tony, which was beginning to get old, and he didn’t feel like talking about the blip, which was the root of all their problems, so it was easier to leave then to deal with everything. And it wasn’t like he had been avoiding Tony, he had been around, but sometimes he just needed a break. And now it seemed like Harley was upset with him too and…</p><p>            Peter sighed. He didn’t want to think about it, so he wouldn’t till he absolutely had to. Instead, he basked in the sunshine and his good feelings and ignored his headache. It was odd. He had been getting headaches a lot this summer and he had no idea why. Maybe it was from the ammonia smell in the camera store? They should really slow down with the cleaning, honestly. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished his phone out of his pocket and checked who it was from. It was from his group chat with Ned and MJ. He opened the message.</p><p>            <strong>Ned: Soo, I was thinking about the blip today, and I have a theory</strong></p><p>This should be good. Ned’s theories were usually pretty entertaining, if slightly ridiculous. The bubble in his phone blinked with three dots, showing that Ned was typing. A few moments later, his text arrived.</p><p>            <strong>Ned: If we were “blipped” out, does that mean we were “blooped” back in??? Or were we just “un-blipped”??</strong></p><p>Peter snorted and rolled his eyes. Before he could respond, MJ joined the conversation.</p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: Obviously we were blooped back, no question</strong>
</p><p>Peter decided to join the conversation.</p><p>            <strong>Peter: I dunno guys, I think Un-blipped is probably a more scientific answer, so imma have to go with that one. </strong></p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: Please Peter, take your science elsewhere.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            Ned: Who’s to say “blooped” isn’t scientific?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: Yeah</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            Peter: Umm, can you imagine writing “blooped” seriously in a science paper? Or like, any school paper ever? Plus, the hyphen in “un-blipped” automatically makes it look more professional</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            Ned: I definitely can imagine “blooped” in a scientific paper and I’m honestly here for it </strong>
</p><p>            Peter laughed at the mental image of some future scientist or historian presenting a project.</p><p>            <em>“…and in the year 2023, five years after the blip, all the people that were blipped, were blooped back, just like that…”</em></p><p>            Peter thought for a moment and constructed a reply.</p><p>            <strong>Peter: I mean…fair, you’ve seen the future, and it looks bright</strong></p><p>He reached his front steps and pocketed his phone.  He walked up the rickety steps and opened the door. Once Peter got inside, he quickly shut the door, trying to keep the wave of heat from entering the cool house. Then he kicked off his shoes and walked towards the kitchen to see what everyone was up to. He entered the kitchen only to stumble upon what appeared to be an ongoing cold war. </p><p>            Tony and Harley seemed to be having a staring contest. Harley sat at one end of the table glaring coldly at Tony and Tony stood leaning on a cabinet, arms crossed, glaring back, if a bit less coldly. Peter closed his eyes for a minute. This was probably his fault for leaving. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to rewind the day, so he just stared on. He cleared his throat, which caused both Tony and Harley to look over at him. Harley seemed to glare harder at Peter then he had been glaring at Tony, while Tony’s gaze softened a little.</p><p>            “Um, hey,” Peter said, shoving his hands in his pockets. Harley rolled his eyes and stood to leave. Tony refocused his attention on Harley.</p><p>            “Where are you going?” Tony asked in a testy voice.</p><p>            “Somewhere else,” Harley muttered.</p><p>            “Harley, you can’t just leave in the middle of a conversation,” Tony stated. Harley turned back to Tony and planted his hands on the table.</p><p>            “Oh?” Harley asked in a mock curious tone. Tony gritted his teeth. “Watch me,” With that, Harley walked swiftly towards the stairs. Tony put a hand to his forehead.</p><p>            “Harley, come back here,”</p><p>            “No thanks,”</p><p>            “Harley!”</p><p>            “Wasn’t much of a conversation anyway,” Harley said, as he walked up the steps and to his room. Tony rubbed his face in frustration. Peter looked between the stairs and Tony in a state of great confusion. After Tony rubbed half his skin off, he looked at Peter finally. Peter waved awkwardly, and immediately regretted it. Tony grimaced.</p><p>            “Hi,” Peter said again. Tony sighed and stood up straight.</p><p>            “Hi, Peter,”</p><p>            “Umm,” Peter worried his lip, “What…what happened?”</p><p>            “Wish I knew,” Tony grumbled quietly, “Do you know? He’s been off all day, and I can’t get anything but,” Tony waved his hands violently at the stairs. Peter shrugged. Tony sighed.</p><p>            “Dinners in ten, Pepper and Morgan are picking up Chinese, see if you can get him to come down, yeah?” Peter nodded in response and Tony nodded back. He turned to get plates out of the cupboard. Peter walked upstairs.</p><p>            He knocked lightly on the door and got indecipherable grumbles from the other side. He opened the door and poked his head in. Harley was looking at something on his phone but looked up when the door opened.</p><p>            “What?” Harley asked sharply. Peter raised his eyebrows.</p><p>            “You ok?”</p><p>            “Freaking Peachy, can’t you tell?” Harley said dropping his phone on his bed and giving Peter his full attention. Peter rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Come on Harley, I just got here, cut me some slack,”</p><p>            “Yeah, I noticed,” Harley said coldly. Peter blinked.</p><p>            “Dude, what’s the problem? I’m literally just trying to figure out why you’re so pissed off,” Peter said. Harley rolled his eyes and took a breath.  </p><p>            “Whatever, I’m fine, Tony’s just pissing me off,”</p><p>            “Okay, well…Dinners in ten,” Harley gave Peter a thumbs up and laid back on his bed, picking up his phone to scroll through it. Peter took that as his cue to leave.</p><hr/><p>            The Stark family dinner was shrouded in tension. You could hear nothing but the sounds of Chow Mein being slurped from forks and the darting of eyes between them. But in any situation, there is almost always a person who is completely unconcerned with the agitation, usually to the frustration of those who are agitated. In this situation, that person would be Peter.</p><p>            Peter sat in his chair across from Harley with Morgan to his right. He ate his food as silently as the rest of them, but somehow the tension was glancing off of him. Maybe it was because he’d had a good day. Or maybe it was because he was texting Ned and MJ, which made it easy not to dwell on it.  </p><p>            <strong>Peter: You guys know that meme, with the guy with the pizzas, walks into the room on fire? I kinda feel that meme right now. </strong></p><p><strong>            Ned: This one? You know that’s a dead meme, right? </strong> <a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/13871fiv9kBfkQ"> <strong>https://giphy.com/gifs/13871fiv9kBfkQ</strong> </a></p><p>
  <strong>            Peter: It still applies. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: Why, what’s happening?</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            Peter: Well, Harley and Tony seem to be fighting or something, and Harley’s pissed at me too for some reason, and I went out with Alexa and I was feeling all good and then I walk in and BOOM!  Cold war and Harley has the bigger nukes. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: How the hell did he get the bigger nukes, that’s not allowed</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            Ned: Dude, you were supposed to be on top of that! </strong>
</p><p>            Peter smiled and snickered at his friends.</p><p>            Across the table, Harley sat glowering at Peter, who was completely oblivious to it. Harley couldn’t believe he had the audacity to act like everything was fine. Peter just sat there smiling, ignoring everyone else and Harley couldn’t believe it. It was astonishing how close to the edge this day was pushing him. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to happen, but whatever was happening at this moment was not it. He’d rather have an argument, a yelling match, a volcanic eruption, anything but what was happening at this very moment. He took a large bite of sweet and sour chicken and kept glaring at Peter. His phone buzzed and he almost didn’t want to see what it said. He put down his chopsticks (because honestly, what savage ate <em>Chinese </em>from <em>forks</em>? The rest of them apparently…) He picked up his phone and double-tapped the screen to meet his inevitable doom because honestly, who else could it be other than his mom with the day he had been having?</p><p>            <strong>Mom: So, class choices? I want to get this done before I come out there next week, and I need a little cooperation.</strong></p><p>Harley resisted the urge to cuss very fluently at the dinner table that currently had a five-year-old seated at it and settled for forcefully pressing the power button on his phone and frowning deeper. When he picked up his chopsticks, he noticed Tony was looking at him with a calculating gaze.</p><p>            Tony watched Harley look at his phone and frown. He had been doing that all day and Tony didn’t have the smallest inkling why. When Tony had tried to ask what was on his phone that was making him so upset, Harley had responded in a highly sarcastic tone, that: “Puppy pictures are replacing cat pictures on the internet and it’s causing unrest in the cat community,”.</p><p>            Tony took another bite of his food and turned his head slightly to look at Peter. Peter was grinning at his phone. So apparently the cat community was doing better. Or maybe Peter was for the dogs. Tony was losing his mind. He made eye contact with Pepper and she gave him a sympathetic look. He sighed in frustration, the first sound to wash over the table for several minutes. No response whatsoever. Pepper cleared her throat.</p><p>            “So, what are we doing after dinner?” She asked in a cheery voice that only Pepper Potts could muster in such a situation. The boys looked up at last. Peter shrugged noncommittally. Harley took his last bite of chicken, chewed, and swallowed before answering.</p><p>            “How about we keep the trend of ignoring each other going, shall we?” He grumbled. He picked up his plate and disposable chopsticks and threw the chopsticks in the trash. Then he loaded his plate in the dishwasher before he exited upstairs. For the third time that day. Peter looked up the steps and sighed quietly. He turned back to Pepper and Tony.</p><p>            “So, I’m gonna…” He pointed a thumb towards the stairs. He stood up from his chair, pushed it in, and followed Harley up the steps, two at a time. Tony stared up the steps. Pepper broke the silence.</p><p>            “That went well…” Pepper said blandly. Tony hummed. Morgan grinned widely and spoke energetically.</p><p>            “Yeah! I love Chinese food!”  Pepper looked at Morgan and smiled softly. Tony smiled too.</p><p>            “Yeah kiddo, me too,” Tony said.</p><p>            Tony shook his head and stood up to start cleaning the kitchen. Pepper followed. Tony picked up the plates to load them and Pepper started closing food containers. They continued like that for several minutes until they heard Harley and Peter’s raised voices upstairs. Pepper and Tony looked at each other. Their eyes darted upstairs apprehensively.</p><p>            “Do you want me to…” Pepper asked Tony, looking upstairs. Tony thought about it for a minute, but more shouting spurred his decision.</p><p>            “Nope, I got it,” Tony walked briskly up the steps and opened the door where the shouting was emanating from.  </p><p>            “And that’s the problem, Peter! You’re so freaking trusting of everyone that you can’t fucking see when they’re using you, or when they’re acting shady!” Harley shouted. Peter threw his hands up in the air.</p><p>            “Shut up, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, stop projecting your trust issues on me,” Peter replied coldly. Harley shook his head and smiled dementedly.</p><p>            “Just because I don’t just automatically trust some random person, I met a week ago, I’m projecting…That’s stupid Peter, really stupid,” Harley’s demented smile stayed fixed. Tony stood in the doorway completely shocked. Neither of the boys seemed to have noticed they weren’t alone, and Peter was just about to respond to Harley’s jab before Tony interjected.</p><p>            “Guys! What the hell is going on?”</p><p>            That surprised both of the boys and they looked at him. Tony looked expectantly at them. Peter started.</p><p>            “Harley’s having a flip-out for no reason, and I’m—”</p><p>            “No reason? That’s great Peter, keep telling yourself that,”</p><p>            “What do you—”</p><p>            “Guys! Both of you stop. Just stop. Okay?” Both boys stopped, but you could tell they were still seething. “Harley you need to chill, go out in the hall,” Tony moved out of the doorway so Harley could leave the room. Harley turned back to Peter and threw his hands out in front of him one last time.</p><p>            “Gladly,” Harley stalked out of the room. Tony looked at Peter.</p><p>            “You need to chill out too, there’s no reason to throw around personal attacks because you’re pissed off,” Peter jerked his head back looking completely taken aback.</p><p>            “He threw one at me!” Peter responded. Tony held up his hands in a placating gesture.</p><p>            “Just. Stop. I’ll be right back, chill,” Tony responded, about to leave. Peter rolled his eyes and fell into a sitting position on his bed. Tony walked out into the hall and closed the door behind him. Harley leaned against the wall, one foot up, arms crossed, positively fuming. His hair was in his eyes and they burned with frustration. Tony leaned on the wall across from him and put his hands in his pockets.</p><p>            “Do you wanna talk about what’s going on now?” Tony asked, sounding more tired than usual. Harley looked away. He freed one of his hands to run it through his hair and then crossed his arms again.</p><p>            “Ya know what, Tony, not really,” Harley said, looking back at him. Tony looked pained.</p><p>            “Harley, that’s not healthy,”</p><p>            “Being unhealthy is the new thing,”</p><p>            “Harley,” Tony pleaded. Harley dropped his foot to the floor and stood up straight.</p><p>            “What do you want me to say, Tony? Huh? I’m pissed off at Peter, and to be totally honest, that kid needs WAY more help than I do! He’s so damn trusting I…” Harley trailed off and leaned back on the wall, looking away again. Tony waited patiently. Harley licked his lips and sighed. Without looking back, he continued, “Maybe I am projecting. Who the hell knows? I sure don’t,” Tony looked at Harley and saw the vulnerability in his eyes. Saw the pure confusion and anger, and a whole range of emotions Tony didn’t know the words for.</p><p>            “Kid, I—”</p><p>            “Go talk to Peter, I probably pissed him off more than he did me, so you should talk to him. Just had a shitty day, that’s the only problem. I think I’m gonna go for a walk,” Harley said, only making eye contact in the last sentence. He stood up again and dropped his arms to his sides.</p><p>            “Harley, don’t avoid the issue, come on,” Harley sighed and gave Tony a tired half-smile.</p><p>            “I’m not avoiding it, I’m actually dealing with it by walking it off, so see you in a bit,” Then, he started down the stairs, without looking back. Tony rubbed his face and pushed himself away from the wall. He opened the door to Peter’s room and walked in.</p><p>            Peter was still sitting on the bed looking at something on his phone, looking slightly less angry than he originally had. He looked up when he heard Tony come in.</p><p>            “So, Harley just left? Just like that?” Peter asked. Tony frowned.</p><p>            “How did you…?” Peter pointed to his ears.</p><p>            “Enhanced hearing, remember?” Peter said. Tony could have kicked himself. Of course, Peter had heard everything.</p><p>            “He needed to cool off,”</p><p>            “Yep,” Peter replied shortly. Tony walked further into the room and sat on the bed opposite Peter’s.</p><p>            “What happened?” Tony asked. Peter shook his head.</p><p>            “I don’t know, he’s gotten it into his head that I’m being used by Alexa or something stupid like that, I don’t even know,” Tony’s eyebrows creased.</p><p>            “Are…are you?” Tony asked jerkily. Peter looked at Tony with disbelief.</p><p>            “No! Do you guys really think I have no sense about people?” Peter asked angrily.</p><p>            “That was not what I was saying, chill.” Tony placated. Peter rolled his eyes. “I think something else is happening and he’s just taking it out on you,” Tony suggested.</p><p>            “Or he’s jealous cause I’m hanging out with Alexa,”</p><p>            “Peter, Harley hasn’t ever been jealous in his life,”</p><p>            “There’s a first time for everything,” Peter said, picking at a thread on his quilt. Tony rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “I’m almost positive he isn’t jealous,” Peter sighed in response, the anger draining from his expression and being replaced with tiredness, very similarly to what had happened with Harley.</p><p>            “Then what’s his issue?” He asked, making eye contact.</p><p>            “I don’t know,” Tony sighed.</p><p>            And he really didn’t. About much at all at this point. So much for him being a genius, because these two boys had stumped him, and he didn’t even know where to start.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for bearing with me while I took so long, I appreciate everyone's comments so much and I hope you're as excited for the next chapter as I am! I'm gonna have some time this weekend, so the next chapter should be up relatively soon. Thanks again :))</p><p> </p><p>Special thanks to KT, couldn't have pulled through this chapter without ya</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello beautiful people! I am a horrible person. </p>
<p>Sorry that it took forever, I had a lot going on, and then a crippling case of laziness took hold of me and didn't let go. But it's okay now, cause I beat it back with a stick and have another chapter for you all! Yay! </p>
<p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Peter laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. His ears filled with the sound of his own methodical breathing and the ebb and flow of the ocean. The smooth melody of the water blended impeccably with the chorus of his breathing, forming a nearly perfect distraction from the turbulent hurricane that was currently wreaking havoc in his mind. The winds of doubt beat at the foundations of the relationship he had formed over the last month. The violent, angry rain of Harley's words flooded through the walls that housed Peter's trust.</p>
<p>            …<em>You’re so freaking trusting, you can’t see when people are using you…</em></p>
<p>The quiet whisper of Tony’s concern acted as debris, hammering at the same wall.</p>
<p>            …<em> Are…Are you?</em>      </p>
<p>            The swirling mass of emotion made Peter’s chest tighten uncomfortably.</p>
<p>            What if Harley was right? What if he had been so desperate to connect to someone, he had let himself be manipulated and used? Tony was right, Harley didn’t get jealous, at least not easily. So maybe Harley could see something he hadn’t let himself see.</p>
<p>            It had only been the third date when Alexa had asked him to deliver that package to Phil. They had only known each other for 4 or 5 days. Was that weird?</p>
<p>            Phil always gave him an uneasy feeling. But that was just because Peter didn’t know him…right? Of course that was why. He always felt nervous around people he didn’t know well.</p>
<p>            <em>Not that kind of nervous…</em>a little voice whispered in his ear. <em>That itchy…tingly…crawling feeling only gets you when there’s something bad happening…</em>The voice nagged. <em>Don’t be stupid…</em></p>
<p>            No. That didn’t make sense. Phil was a super nice guy who helped Alexa a lot during the blip. Why would he be doing something shady? Plus, Harley hadn’t even met Phil, so that wasn’t it. Of course…he did get headaches an awful lot…but, that was probably from…</p>
<p>            Peter didn’t know how to justify his headaches. The sudden burst of conviction he had just felt, left him as quickly as it had arrived. Why did he get headaches?</p>
<p>            The ammonia smell…</p>
<p>            Why had Alexa been so concerned about him almost opening the basement door by accident? Did that have something to do with the ammonia smell? Why had she needed him to do the deliveries, hadn’t she been making do on her own? Why had she suddenly been so busy?</p>
<p>            Peter's thoughts twisted back and forth between believing Alexa was innocent of Harley’s accusations and thinking about all the weird things he hadn’t wanted to notice. They contorted in wild shapes, as he tried to make sense of it all, tried desperately to not believe what his common sense was telling him. Peter’s stomach sank deeper and deeper the more he thought about the strange things he had just been <em>pushing aside</em>…</p>
<p>            But how could he condemn a person for keeping a clean store? How could he condemn a person for feeling overwhelmed and reaching out for help? What if it was nothing?</p>
<p>            <em>But what if it was something? </em></p>
<p>            Peter closed his eyes. Harley and he had never had that kind of a fight before. They had fought about stupid things before, and maybe the occasional “serious” fight, but most of the time it was because one of them was tired or hungry. They didn’t fight.</p>
<p>            This was a first, and there had to be a reason.</p>
<p>            Peter opened his eyes. He had to figure out if Harley was right. The next time he saw Alexa, he was going to take a step back and see if he could see what Harley saw. Let his senses guide him instead of his emotions.</p>
<p>            Yeah. Yeah, that would work.</p>
<p>            If Harley's concerns were unfounded, <em>which they probably were, </em>he would be able to tell. There was no reason he shouldn’t double-check, even though it was probably nothing.</p>
<p>            Peter turned his head and looked at the bed across from him. He could see Harley’s back in the darkness. Harley hadn’t said a word to Peter after he got back. He ignored Peter until he went to bed. How was Harley going to take it if Peter didn’t notice anything weird about Alexa?</p>
<p>            <em>How would Peter react if there WAS something weird about Alexa?</em></p>
<hr/>
<p>            Tony laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts whirred around his mind like gears that had suddenly decided to go rogue and go at ten times the speed they were supposed to. He tried to dissect the day, piece by piece, part by part, trying to pinpoint the exact moment it all started to collapse. He finally came to the conclusion that it had all been downhill from the moment Harley passed up his first opportunity to make a sarcastic comment. Tony was perplexed, to say the least.</p>
<p>            To be more realistic, he had no idea what the hell was going on or how to fix it. How could he? Neither of the boys would talk to him to save their lives. He probably hadn’t dug enough; he just didn’t want to pry too much. He wanted to give them enough space, let them come to him.</p>
<p>            That hadn’t been working at all.</p>
<p>            It seemed the more space he gave them, the farther and farther away they floated. Tony closed his eyes. He was shitty at this. They probably thought that he was giving them space because he <em>wanted </em>to be un-involved because he didn’t care. Shit. So naturally, Peter had turned to someone else. A someone else Tony hadn’t even asked to meet, and, if Harley was to be believed, a someone else that was <em>really</em> <em>bad news. </em></p>
<p>            Granted, Harley was often dramatic, but Tony had never seen him straight out <em>yell</em> at Peter, so that had automatically brought up some red flags. And while he was on the subject of Harley, what was happening with him? He had fully expected The Great Wall of Sarcasm to eventually crack, if not fall completely, but he had expected to have actual conversations about everything. Instead, Harley had just been angry and spiteful all day, without even hinting at a desire to actually talk about what was bothering him. Plus, Tony hadn’t expected outside interference, which was obviously part of the reason Harley was upset, but how was Tony supposed to get anything out of him when he was like this?</p>
<p>            The situation had gotten so tremendously complicated. The gears grew louder as they circumvolved in Tony’s head. It must be his fault because he had been so hands-off all summer, but he had thought it had been the right call.  He had thought they needed space. He had thought they would come to him. He had thought they would talk when they were ready.</p>
<p>            <em>Apparently, he had thought wrong. </em></p>
<p>            To his dismay, he didn’t have the slightest clue where to <em>begin </em>to fix the problem, but luckily for him, he was a genius who had figured out time travel in one night.</p>
<p>            There was no way this situation was any more complicated than time travel had been.</p>
<p>            Hopefully.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter woke up the next morning with the same tight feeling in his chest from the night before, but instead of the violent hurricane of uncertainty that had spun wildly through his mind, a quiet resolve had snuck in overnight.</p>
<p>            Today could only yield two outcomes.</p>
<p>            Peter would either investigate and find out there was nothing at all to worry about with Alexa and he would go into this weekend fixing things with Harley and spending time with Aunt May and having a great fourth of July weekend with everyone.</p>
<p>            Or, his investigation would yield truly sub-optimal results, prove that Harley was right about something being up with Alexa and that she had nefarious intentions. If that were the case…Peter had no clue whatsoever how he would be going into 4<sup>th</sup> of July weekend.</p>
<p>            Here’s to hoping for the former.</p>
<p>            Peter sat up in bed and tried to yawn the tightness in his chest away. He had been doing Alexa’s deliveries on Thursdays for the last few weeks, and today was Thursday.</p>
<p>            If there ever <em>was</em> a good time to try and prove that your maybe-girlfriend is out to get you, then the day you deliver her packages would probably be the best time to do it.</p>
<p>            Peter’s eyes flitted over to Harley’s bed for a split second. Harley’s back was turned towards him. Hopefully, once Peter showed Harley that Alexa wasn’t a threat, Harley would talk to him again.</p>
<p>            <em>If you <strong>can</strong> show Harley she isn’t a threat…</em>whispered that ominous voice that had haunted Peter since he had been back. Peter shook it off, and quietly got out of bed to get dressed, trying his best not to wake Harley.</p>
<p>            Peter got dressed quickly and went downstairs. It was about nine am, fairly early to be doing his delivery, but he had texted Alexa and asked if he could come a little earlier than usual, because he had a “family” thing later that morning, or that’s what he told her. She had agreed without question, and so his plan began rolling into motion.</p>
<p>            Of course, he had hoped that Tony and everyone else would still be asleep when he came downstairs that morning so he wouldn’t have to face unwanted scrutiny, but without fail, his bad luck came into play, because, sitting at the table by himself, drinking coffee, was Tony. He was reading something on his phone but looked up when Peter’s shoe squeaked on one of the steps. Tony’s eyes had a bit of a tired glaze to them and his body language screamed weariness. He shot Peter a half-smile and scooted out a chair for Peter. Peter didn’t feel like he could decline the invitation. He finished his descent down the stairs and sat down.</p>
<p>            “Uh…what’s up?” Peter asked, a little awkwardly. Tony took a sip of his coffee. Seemingly a normal thing to do, but he was obviously buying time to find the right words for what he was trying to say. Peter fidgeted nervously. Tony put down his coffee cup and smiled at Peter.</p>
<p>            “Do you feel like you’re able to talk to me?” Tony asked, looking for all the world like someone asking about the weather, and not about something that Peter had been grappling with within himself all summer. How was he supposed to answer such a loaded question? Peter tugged at the hem of his t-shirt.</p>
<p>            “Um…um, sure? Yeah, I know I can talk to you,” Peter said, stumbling over his words. Tony gave a little sad smile and rested his clutched hands on the table.</p>
<p>            “Are you sure? Because…And I know a lot has changed, but I used to not be able to get you to shut up when you talked to me. You used to talk to me about everything, and I guess I’m just trying to make sure you know that just because things have changed, it doesn’t mean I don’t care, or don’t want to talk to you,”</p>
<p>            Peter didn’t know what to say, so he just stared. Tony didn’t wait for Peter to respond but instead pushed forward through his obviously rehearsed speech.</p>
<p>            “I know things are much, much different, but me caring isn’t different, okay? I should have told you this a lot sooner. I was trying to give you space, but I think you might have misconstrued me giving you space for not caring enough to ask, and that is not the case <em>at all</em>. I care so much, and I want to make sure that you don’t feel like you have to find someone else to hear you out or help you process what happened, okay? I’m always here, and I miss not being able to get you to shut up, <em>I miss it</em>,”</p>
<p>            Peter was speechless. This had not been on his agenda or the morning, and to be completely honest, he was not loving it. He was trying to put out an entirely different fire at the moment, and now another one had sprung up behind him. Shit.</p>
<p>            He knew for sure this was not something he should walk away from. Peter had needed this conversation all summer but hadn’t known how to start it, and here Tony had started it for him, and he was in the exact opposite mindset he needed to be in for this conversation. He absent-mindedly allowed his eyes to glance to the side to look at the clock on the stove. 9:13. If he could get this mess with Alexa sorted out in the next hour, it would make it much, much easier to have this conversation. He could actually have his full attention on this conversation, though he was fairly certain he didn’t really <em>want </em>to have this conversation so much as he <em>needed</em> to have this conversation. Either way right now was a really bad time.</p>
<p>            Peter re-focused his attention on Tony. Peter wasn’t sure how long he had been staring off into space, but it had been long enough for Tony’s face to drop slightly. Peter cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tic he had picked up form Harley.</p>
<p>            “Tony, I…” He ran his hand through his hair again. “I…Look, I don’t want to blow you off right now, I promise, I just, I just have this thing I have to do with Alexa,” Tony’s face fell even further, and he opened his mouth to say something else but Peter pushed on.</p>
<p>            “I swear I’m not blowing you off, I…I want…I need to talk to you, but…I really have to do this thing because of what happened with Harley last night, and if I don’t do this thing, Harley probably won’t believe me and he’ll be mad at me forever, so can we like, just…put a pin in it for literally an hour maybe two? Literally two hours max,” Peter clutched his hands together and looked imploringly at Tony. Tony looked defeated, and somehow even more world-weary than he had previously. Peter bit his lip.</p>
<p>            “I promise, two hours max, then we can have this conversation. Please,”</p>
<p>            Tony pinched the bridge of his nose.</p>
<p>            “O…Okay…Two hours max,” Tony repeated. Peter stood up from his chair and backed towards the door.</p>
<p>            “Two hours.”</p>
<p>            Peter backed up until he bumped into the door. He grabbed the nob, all while staring at Tony’s disappointment ridden face. He turned the nob, opened the door, and turned to go.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter didn’t end up arriving at Snapshot till around 9:30. Peter’s guilt at ditching Tony ate at his insides, somehow more then the hurricane had the night before, but he swallowed once and tried to ignore it.</p>
<p>            As he turned the door handle, he suddenly came to the realization that they had never met up at her house or anywhere other than the camera shop, other than the one time they had gone out for lunch. He wasn’t sure why that realization had just hit him, but he did find it a little odd now that he thought about it.</p>
<p>            <em>She wants to keep her business and home life separate…</em>The voice whispered.</p>
<p>            Peter shook his head to get rid of the voice as he entered the building. He looked around for Alexa or her dad. The building appeared empty. He took a moment to take in his surroundings and see if he sensed anything off. The room was quiet. He could smell a slight tinge of ammonia like he always did. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The basement door was still closed. The displays hadn’t changed, and all the shelves were in the same place. He ventured further into the shop. Maybe Alexa was in the basement. He crossed the room at a slow pace and reached for the handle, but before he could even touch the brassy handle, the door flew open to reveal Alexa. A sudden overpowering scent of ammonia and various other chemical smells wafted out of the basement, almost making Peter gag.</p>
<p>            Alexa looked slightly surprised to see Peter but recovered quickly enough. Her surprised expression was replaced by a small, relatively well-hidden scowl, Peter noted.</p>
<p>            “Peter, hey. Um, what’re ya doin over here? The basements for employees only,” She tried to cover her stern voice with a half laugh as she pushed past him and closed the door. She held the paper bag that Peter usually delivered in her left hand.</p>
<p>            “Uh, sorry, I couldn’t find you,” Peter stated, weakly. Alexa’s green eyes flashed in irritation briefly, but she regained her composure quickly.</p>
<p>            “Well if you ever can’t find me text me,” She said, masking her sharp tone to the best of her ability. Peter’s stomach sank. Was he just reading into her normal body language, or had she actually been acting this weird the whole time? Peter ignored the obnoxiously cynical voice in his head to the best of his ability. Peter decided to talk a little bit.</p>
<p>            “Why couldn’t I go down there, I’m here enough to be an employee anyway,” Peter quipped, giving Alexa a bit of a half-smile. She did not return the smile.</p>
<p>            “Well it’s my office, and it’s private, so I would appreciate it if you would just respect that,”</p>
<p>            That wasn’t exactly a reassuring answer to his question.</p>
<p>            “Oh…okay, sorry I was, um, just joking,” Peter said shrugging. Alexa gave him a smile. Her usual smile. But somehow it seemed a little tighter than what Peter remembered. She held out the bag to him.</p>
<p>            “Here’s Phil’s package for the week, maybe we can get some food after you give it to him,” Alexa said. Peter nodded absently as he thought of what to say next to aid his investigation.</p>
<p>            “Hey um, I just had a question,” Peter said, as he grabbed the bag. Alexa gave him the tight-lipped smile she had given him a few moments previous.</p>
<p>            “Yeah? What’s that?” She asked.</p>
<p>            “Well, um, I was just curious why Phil doesn't come pick up his packages? You lived with him for a while, right? Doesn’t he want to see you?” Peter asked, putting the hand that wasn’t holding the bag in his pocket. This question appeared to put a bit of a strain on her tight-lipped smile.</p>
<p>            “Why do people order from Amazon when they can go shopping? It’s more convenient mostly. Besides, him and my dad had a disagreement, so he doesn’t come by anymore. But I’m not about to let my dad turn away a paying customer with how slow it is these days, so this is the compromise,” Alexa said, avoiding eye contact with Peter as she wiped imaginary crumbs away from her jeans. “You gonna do the delivery?”</p>
<p>            Alexa hadn’t looked up from the imaginary crumbs on her jeans once until she had asked if Peter was going to do the delivery. A fun fact from Peter's psychology class flashed through his mind as if it were flashing across a billboard on Times Square. 43 percent of people avoid eye contact when telling a lie.</p>
<p>            A coincidence?</p>
<p>            Possibly.</p>
<p>            Alexa held out her Jeeps keys to Peter. Peter took them and forced out a smile.</p>
<p>            “Be back soon,” Peter turned and walked to the car without looking back. Strangely enough, the ammonia smell persisted even after he exited the building, and before he got into the car. Peter tried to think back and remember if that had always been the case. He sifted through all his memories of the deliveries he had done for Alexa and came to the conclusion, that, yes, that had always been the case.</p>
<p>            And he had never questioned it till now.</p>
<p>            He got into the car, put the key into the ignition, and turned on the car.</p>
<p>            He tried to remember if the ammonia smell ever stopped when he was with Alexa.</p>
<p>            He drove out of the parking lot and got on the correct road before he resumed his train of thought.</p>
<p>            The only times he could think of when the overpowering smell of ammonia ceased was when they weren’t in the camera store and when he was on the way back from Phil’s and he didn’t have the…the bag in the front seat.  </p>
<p>            Peter glanced to his right, at the unassuming brown paper bag that sat in the front seat.</p>
<p>            The bag that was always stapled shut.</p>
<p>            The bag that always originated from the basement he wasn’t allowed to enter.</p>
<p>            The bag that always, always, without fail gave him headaches.</p>
<p>            Peter refocused on his driving. He was on one of the usual roads he took. It was a secluded back road, and no one was around. He pulled to the side of the road, and grabbed the bag roughly, his breathing becoming heavier as different outcomes of this action played out in his head. He carefully removed the staples without ripping the bag, stabbing his nailbed with a staple in the process. He felt sick. He didn’t want to open the bag. He didn’t want it to be true.</p>
<p>            He had to open the bag.</p>
<p>            He unrolled the top of the bag. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for the worst. When he opened his eyes and looked inside the bag, neat, well-packaged bags of small blue crystals accosted his vision while the overpowering scent of ammonia accosted his nose.</p>
<p>            Peter was going to be sick.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! I'll do my best to not keep you waiting for long this time! :)) Comments and kudos really keep me going, so I always appreciate those!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello beautiful people! Sorry I was MIA there for a while! Anyway here's a chapter. Thank you to everyone who liked and commented, you guys are the best, and you keep me going! hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Peter hurled the bag across the car. It landed with an unceremonious thump on the passenger side floorboard. Peter opened the door to get out of the car, but the sickeningly tight pressure he felt against his skin as he tried to exit the vehicle reminded him that he still had his seatbelt firmly strapped across his body. He moved painfully slowly, fumbling with his seatbelt. As he kept missing the release, his breathing quickened. The simple task had never been more difficult as he began to realize what his most recent discovery meant. After the third try, his fingers finally did what he had been willing them to do for the last 15 seconds, and the seatbelt retracted. Peter stumbled out of the car and fell to his knees on the hard asphalt.</p>
<p>            It was only then that the full, crushing weight of what he had just found hit him, like a speeding semi-truck crashing into an unsuspecting, minuscule smart car. His chest constricted painfully, and he felt like throwing up, because holy hell, what was he going to do? Holy <em>hell,</em> Harley was freaking right. There had been something off about her, and Harley, the most unobservant human being on the planet had noticed, and Peter hadn’t. Peter hadn’t, and he had a literal <em>sense</em> about people. Peter’s breathing became even more shallow as he fell into a sitting position and clutched at his chest as if that would make the horrible, unyielding pressure in his chest abate.</p>
<p>
  <em>            He had been a drug mule. </em>
</p>
<p><em>            <strong>Spider-Man</strong></em> <em>had been a <strong>drug</strong> mule.</em></p>
<p>            Alexa had made him deliver drugs she must have manufactured, and he was too caught up in emotional garbage to notice. How in the hell was he going to make things right with Tony now? Peter closed his eyes and tried to make his mind go blank, which of course, was impossible. The only thing he could imagine was Tony’s disappointed face as Peter told him about how he screwed up, <em>yet again</em>. Tony was probably sitting at the kitchen table right now, drinking some disgustingly strong coffee, waiting for him to come home and actually talk to him, actually be real with him for the first time this whole damn summer. If Peter went home now, if Peter told Tony about what he had been doing all summer, there was no question about it. Tony would be unbelievably disappointed. Peter had screwed the pooch again. Like he kept doing.</p>
<p>            There was a reason Harley seemed to fit so well.  </p>
<p>            <em>Because he didn’t cause so many damn problems. </em></p>
<p>Peter felt like he was choking on the very air he was breathing. He was tired of disappointing Tony…so tired…and it wasn’t just his relationship with Tony that was at stake. It was his relationship with his whole family.</p>
<p>            Harley.</p>
<p>            May.</p>
<p>            Pepper.</p>
<p>            In that moment, leaning against the jeep, clutching at his chest while heat waves radiated off the black asphalt road, Peter had never felt so numb and so overwhelmed by emotion at the same time.</p>
<p>            Peter must have sat there for a good ten minutes, thinking about the last few weeks, and trying to come to terms with what he had done.</p>
<p>            At last, he took in a deep, shuddering breath and stood up. He ran a hand through his hair and tried his best to steady his breathing. He couldn’t be Peter Parker right now, no. He would have time to process this experience as Peter Parker later. Right now, he had to put on the confident mask of Spider-Man. He had to make a plan and deal with the situation at hand. He wasn’t going to bring it to Tony, at least not yet. He was going to try and take care of it on his own. He wasn’t completely helpless.</p>
<p>            Peter took another deep breath, or as deep of a breath as his anxiety would let him, and he got back into the yellow jeep. He was going to confront Alexa. Maybe she didn’t have a choice, maybe Phil was blackmailing her. He would never know unless he talked to her.</p>
<p>            He turned the car on and put it into gear.</p>
<p>            As he pulled back onto the road, he did his best not to gag on the smell he now knew to be methamphetamine.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            When Harley woke up, he had been feeling guilty about how he had treated Peter and, well, everyone, the day before. He had been ready to apologize to Peter, and actually have a real, honest conversation about his concerns about Alexa, and hopefully start over. However confrontational Harley was, he still didn’t enjoy having an ongoing disagreement with people he actually liked. He even considered talking to Tony about his mom, but, well, he hadn’t quite decided on that one yet. But he was for sure going to talk to Peter and try to have a levelheaded conversation.</p>
<p>            That all went out the window when he went downstairs to find that Peter had already left to see Alexa again.</p>
<p>            “What do you <em>mean </em>Peter had to sort something out with Alexa?” Harley asked Tony. His voice quivered with anger that he was doing his best to keep a hold on. Tony sighed and looked at Harley with imploring eyes. Harley stared back with an icy expression.</p>
<p>            “Kid, Peter just wanted to sort something out with Alexa, and he said he’d be back in two hours max. Okay? So why don’t you just sit down and chill for a minute,”                                          </p>
<p>            Harley looked up to the ceiling and pulled at his hair in frustration, but in the end, he sat down at the table. Tony looked at Harley appraisingly and took a large sip of his coffee.</p>
<p>            Harley, still very much so frustrated, avoided eye contact with Tony, and pulled out his phone to scroll through Instagram or something. Tony put down his coffee cup rather loudly, which prompted Harley to look up from his phone. Tony cleared his throat.</p>
<p>            “Well, I’m not gonna beat around the bush, what’s going on with you?” Tony asked in far too casual a tone for Harley’s liking. Harley looked back at his phone.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I’m not really feeling this conversation right now, Tony,”</p>
<p>            “Yeah?”</p>
<p>            “Yeah.”</p>
<p>            “Well that sucks, cause I really <em>am</em> feeling this conversation right now, and I’m <em>really not feeling </em>your avoidance tactics,” Tony stated. Harley looked up again.</p>
<p>            Tony looked completely relaxed. Harley raised his eyebrows. Tony raised his eyebrows in return. Harley sat up straight in his chair and put his phone on the table.</p>
<p>            “Okay, fine. What do you wanna know Tony?” Harley had a blank expression on his face as he stared at Tony. Tony leaned forward too.</p>
<p>            “Ok, how about we start with what your problem was yesterday?”</p>
<p>            “Didn’t have one. Next question,”</p>
<p>            “Wrong, try again,”</p>
<p>            “Why does it matter?”</p>
<p>            Tony raised a hand to his face and rubbed his go-tee in a thinking position.</p>
<p>            “Hmm, I don’t know, maybe because I want to know because I care?”</p>
<p>            Tony dropped his hand and looked at Harley with complete exasperation. Harley worried his lip and looked away from Tony, focusing on the kitchen sink. Tony sighed.</p>
<p>            “Come on Harley, throw me a bone. I just want to help. You know I’m here to help right? You know I love you and I care right?”</p>
<p>            Harley took a deep breath and looked back at Tony, the ice in his expression ever so slightly melted, and for the first time in a long while, when he spoke, there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, I know Tony,”</p>
<p>            Tony looked expectantly at Harley.</p>
<p>            “I’m fine though. I was just having a bad day yesterday, and I wish Peter would stick around for longer than five seconds.” Harley then picked up his phone again.</p>
<p>            Tony restrained himself from banging his head against the table repeatedly. Why did it feel like he was talking to himself when he talked to his boys?</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter parked the car in front of the camera store and took several deep breaths. He still wasn’t entirely sure of exactly what he was going to say to Alexa, but he was out of time to think about it. He reached for the paper bag and when his fingers closed around the top, he rolled it closed again. He fought the powerful urge to ditch the car and the bag and just go back home, moral compass be damned. While he was at it, he could conveniently lose Alexa’s number on the way and be rid of the whole situation.</p>
<p>            Deep down he knew he couldn’t do that though. He couldn’t just let this continue after he knew about what was going on. So, he swallowed the bile and fear that was rising in his throat and got out of the car, clutching the bag tightly in his fist.</p>
<p>            The door jingled merrily as he walked through the door. The store looked empty. He walked slowly towards the front desk. He called Alexa’s name, and from behind one of the shelves, Alexa popped out. She smiled, but as her eyes traveled first across Peter’s sullen expression, and then slowly down towards the paper bag that Peter had a death grip on, her expression morphed into one of icy indifference. Alexa looked around the store, obviously checking for customers. Finding none, she walked to the front door, flipped the open sign to closed and locked the door. She then turned back to Peter, still not saying a single word. Peter broke the silence.</p>
<p>            “Has it been drugs the whole time, or just this once?” He asked in a shaky voice. Alexa’s indifferent face didn’t waver for a moment.</p>
<p>            “Well, I don’t know. What do you think, Peter?” She asked in a condescending tone. She leaned on a shelf and waited for Peter's response. Peter took a breath.</p>
<p>            “W-why?”</p>
<p>            Alexa smiled. A cold, unkind smile.</p>
<p>            “Well, a girl’s gotta make money somehow. I mean, my dad loves this store, but it would have been out of business a very, <em>very </em>long time ago if it weren’t for my little side hustle. I mean come on, a camera store that still sells film? Who really does that kind of photography anymore?” Alexa stood up straight and started walking toward Peter. “I do what I have to, to keep my dad’s pride and joy together,” She stopped right in front of Peter and stared into his brown eyes with her bright green ones.</p>
<p>            “Oh, unless you were asking why I was using you as my carrier. In that case, that’s a little bit of security for me. I mean honestly, what manufacturer has a carrier to bring the drugs <em>to</em> the carrier? Not many, in my experience.” Peter was clenching his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. Alexa put a hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>            “Basically Pete, if a cop gets tipped off, the person who brings the drugs to the distributor is getting the heat,”</p>
<p>            Peter took two steps back, forcing Alexa to remove her hand from his shoulder.</p>
<p>            “That doesn’t make shit for sense, I would just tell them who the actual manufacturer is, and I will if you don’t turn yourself <em>and</em> Phil in,” Peter said, steadying his voice with effort.</p>
<p>            Alexa threw her head back in laughter at this. A loud, high pitched laugh that sent shivers down Peter’s spine. When she recovered from her laughing fit, she looked at Peter with pity. As if she was looking at the stupidest person on the planet.</p>
<p>            “Peter, I’m not turning myself or anyone else in, you wanna know why?” She asked. Peter said nothing.</p>
<p>            “Because Phil and I don’t take chances. You think we don’t have leverage against you?”</p>
<p>            Peter paled. Alexa continued, chuckling to herself.</p>
<p>            “You really should put a password on your phone.” Peter looked like he was going to be sick. “Because without a passcode, you made it almost too easy to plant evidence on your phone. While you left your phone unattended with me, I was able to send off several texts from your phone to my phone.” Alexa began to walk towards Peter again and he began walking backward. “These texts are deleted from your phone, but you would find they are very much intact on my phone, and your phone network will definitely be able to pull your phone records when pressed. You could say these texts are pretty incriminating,” Alexa backed Peter into the wall. Peter dropped the bag. Alexa continued staring into Peter's eyes, and Peter couldn’t tear his eyes away from hers.</p>
<p>            “So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to continue doing these deliveries for me until you leave. You are not going to tell anyone, or I will Nail. You. To. The. Wall. Imagine how your family would feel if they found out you were manufacturing drugs this summer. Just imagine.” Peter couldn’t breathe. Alexa backed up a little but didn’t break eye contact.</p>
<p>            “Oh Peter,” She sounded apologetic. “I wish you wouldn’t have found out. I really liked you, we had a good thing going,” Peter couldn’t hold back a harsh bark of laughter. Alexa raised her eyebrows.</p>
<p>            “I’ll let you skip this week’s delivery; let you decide if you want to be smart or not. I hope you’ll be smart, Peter,”</p>
<p>            As Peter stared into Alexa’s cold, green eyes, a fact from his fifth-grade science class popped into his head.</p>
<p>            The most colorful insects are also the most venomous ones.</p>
<p>            He wished he had remembered sooner.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading!!! :))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two words: I'm sorry.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           Peter stood outside the front door of the yellow beach house. The anxiety from the past two hours that screamed in his chest, only intensified as he stared blankly at the door. The short walk home from Alexa’s store had done nothing for his sanity and he still hadn’t decided how he was going to handle the situation. On one hand, he wouldn’t allow himself to be blackmailed, but on the other, he couldn’t tell Tony. That left him with dealing with the situation by himself, and somehow, that appealed to him even less then the disappointed expression he was certain he would receive from Tony if he told him. The different decisions and outcomes spun around and around in his head like a spinning top, sometimes leaning towards one decision before taking another massive spin and leaning all the way towards the opposite decision.  </p><p>            Peter licked his lips and closed his eyes. He could feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck from the hot, humid atmosphere.</p><p>            When he opened his eyes, he had made a decision.</p><p>            It was the easiest decision.</p><p>            That decision was to ignore the last two hours. He was going to walk through the front door and have the same conversation he had been planning to have with Tony before his morning had turned into a nightmare. He was going to pretend everything was fine until he decided what decision to make. He still felt the anxiety pounding in his chest, but somehow burying it for the moment calmed him. He chose to utterly ignore the fact that May, Helen, and Jules were coming tomorrow, and were about to make dealing with the situation that much harder, and he skipped right over the fact that not telling Tony about the situation automatically defeated the purpose of trying to be honest with him.</p><p>            Yep, he decided, for the moment, that he was going to keep it normal for as long as he possibly could. Granted, that didn’t leave him much time. If Peter knew himself, and he did, ignoring situations usually worked for a few hours at best before he started breaking down. Regardless, that gave him just enough time to get Tony off his back before his inevitable descent into despair began, so he guessed that was the best he could hope for at that moment. He took a deep breath of hot, wet air, and reached for the door handle.</p><p>            He turned it slowly and entered the house.</p><p>            When he looked into the kitchen, Pepper was sitting at the table coloring with Morgan. Peter felt his lips twitch upward. Morgan looked so excited about her picture and Pepper’s smile made Peter fill with regret about not being around more this summer.</p><p>            <em>Maybe if you hadn’t been hanging around with a drug dealer, you wouldn’t feel like such an outsider…</em></p><p>            That was enough of that. Peter shook the thought out of his head and packed his rising anxiety back into its rightful box. He plastered on a half-way decent smile and spoke.</p><p>            “Hey Pepper, hey Mo, you guys know where Tony went?” Peter asked. Pepper looked up from whatever she was coloring and gave Peter a bright smile. Morgan waved a crayon in Peter’s direction before continuing her picture.</p><p>            “Hey, I think he’s on the back porch, reading a book if you can believe it,” Pepper said, leaning her chin on her hand. Peter gave her a thumbs up before walking briskly towards the back door.</p><p>            Peter looked through the glass before opening the door and saw that Tony was sitting in a wicker chair, reading what appeared to be a science fiction book. Peter chuckled slightly. Tony wasn’t much for actual books, especially not fiction, so it was a little surreal to see him contentedly reading a book. Peter opened the door and stepped over the threshold. Tony immediately closed his book and looked up.  </p><p>            “Hey, kid,”</p><p>            “Hey,” Peter said, sitting down in a chair across from Tony. The day's heat was made bearable by the awning above the porch. Tony looked at his watch.</p><p>            “Two hours,”</p><p>            “Yep,” Peter attempted to keep the strain out of his voice. He worried his lip and waited for Tony to speak first. After a few seconds of silence, it became clear that Tony was doing the same. Peter took a deep breath.</p><p>            “I’m not really sure where to start to be honest, so…” Peter trailed off. Tony leaned forward.</p><p>            “How about we start with why you’ve been avoiding me all summer.” Tony’s voice was casual, but his posture was anything but. Tony leaned forward and stared at Peter as if he were the newest episode of Tony’s favorite series. Peter sighed and rubbed his sweaty hands on his jeans.</p><p>            “That’s kind of a broad question, don’t ya think?”</p><p>            Tony’s stare didn’t waver. Peter nodded and looked Tony in the eyes for the first time in weeks.</p><p>            “Well, if I wanna be dramatic I could say it’s because I feel like I’m an extra in my own life. I feel like I’m just here to add drama to the Stark show, and I don’t like that. Or I could get psychological and say it’s because I’m traumatized from the snap and I’m closing myself off to cope. Or, I could say that I’m avoiding you and everyone else because all of you have changed and I haven’t and that makes me feel like an outsider, I could even say, that I feel replaced,” Peter didn’t break eye contact once. The dam had finally broken, and he couldn’t stop now. Peter continued.</p><p>            “Maybe it’s all of those things, or maybe I’m overthinking it, but I think the thing that has made me want to isolate myself from you guys the most, is the fact that I can’t actually be mad at you because none of it is your fault, it’s just the shitty, shitty circumstances we find ourselves in.” Peter paused. Tony’s expression was carefully blank. “Trust me, Tony, it’s a lot easier to be mad at you for moving on than it is to be mad at the fact I missed out on you and Pepper’s wedding, Morgan being born, you turning into a total dad, the list goes on, and on. You’re tangible, and if I didn’t funnel all my anger and issues into something, I probably would have broken down,” Peter was surprised at how thoroughly numb he was, considering everything. It made it easier to talk though, so he was grateful for his detachment.</p><p>            Tony sat on the chair, blank expression turning into a pitying one.</p><p>            Peter didn’t enjoy people pitying him, even Tony, but he ignored it and tried to complete his thought before the numbness wore off.</p><p>            “I’m sorry that I made you my punching bag, that I made Pepper and Morgan my punching bag. That wasn’t right, but damn, blaming you was a lot easier then facing the fact that I was gone for five freaking years,” Peter finished. His hands were sweaty again. He wiped them on his jeans and finally broke eye contact. He focused on the ocean, lapping at the shore lazily. Hopefully, focusing on that would prolong his numbness and keep his anxiety about Alexa at bay.</p><p>            The silence that followed Peter's speech was heavy. The emptiness that filled the air between him and Tony screamed in indignation, begging to be filled. It didn’t have to beg for very long.  </p><p>            When Tony spoke, his voice wavered ever so slightly.</p><p>            “Peter, I…I’m sorry,”</p><p>            Peter swallowed hard around the growing lump in his throat and looked back at Tony.</p><p>            “Tony, I didn’t tell you all that cause I wanted you to feel bad. You asked me why,”</p><p>Tony looked up at the awning and stared at it for a moment. Peter thought he saw a hint of moisture in Tony’s eyes, but when Tony’s gaze returned to him, Tony’s composure returned as well. Peter’s composure, on the other hand, started to weaken gradually as the numb feeling began to recede.</p><p>            “I know, I know, but. I should have made more of an effort to include you. I just let you avoid me until the end of May, then I drug you and Harley all the way down to South Carolina without even letting you re-acclimate to the…changes in the family. I should have done more, and I’m sorry that I didn’t. I should have—” Peter interrupted Tony’s rambling.</p><p>            “It’s a two-way street Tony, I could have included myself more and I didn’t, so stop blaming yourself, that’s not healthy or useful,” Tony looked surprised at Peter’s harsh tone. Peter didn’t mean to come off harsh, but it was true. He was tired of Tony blaming himself for everyone’s problems, especially Peter’s. Tony stared at Peter for a moment, then looked at the floor. When he looked up, he had a resolve in his eyes.</p><p>            “Okay,”</p><p>            It was Peter’s turn to look surprised.</p><p>            “Just okay?”</p><p>            “Yeah. You’re right,”</p><p>            That did it. Peter was downright shocked.</p><p>            “I’m sorry, did THE Tony Stark just tell me that I was right?” Tony rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Yes, and that doesn’t happen very often so savor it now,”</p><p>            Despite everything, Peter smiled. Tony continued.</p><p>            “So, what can I do to fix all those things you just said? Pepper and I can re-enact our wedding for you, cheesy speeches, and all. I have about a million pictures of Morgan I can show you, what can I do to make you feel like you belong again because you <em>do</em> belong,” Tony reached over and put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter laughed softly. Peter was pretty sure Tony was kidding when he said Pepper and him could re-enact their wedding, but there was something in Tony’s eyes that told Peter that he absolutely would do that if that’s what Peter needed.</p><p>            “You’re already fixing it,”</p><p>            Peter didn’t think he could speak four words that were truer. Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder, and then sat back in his chair.</p><p>            “I’m serious though, Pete. I don’t want us to have this conversation and have it do nothing, what’s the plan here?”</p><p>            “Oh my gosh, not everything has to be handled like an engineering problem, Tony,”</p><p>            Tony smirked and raised his eyebrows.</p><p>            “Fine, the plan is to have open communication, how about that? Make sure we’re on the same page. I swear Harley was right, we should all go on Doctor Phil and have it out on live TV,” Peter muttered. Tony looked at him strangely.  </p><p>            “…Harley thinks we should be on Doctor Phil…?”</p><p>            “Don’t worry about it, Harley thinks a lot of things,”</p><p>            Tony snickered.</p><p>            “Okay, fine, I guess that’s a good enough plan, for now, we can add to it as we go,”</p><p>            “Works for me.” Peter stood up and so did Tony. Tony opened his arms for a hug and Peter accepted.</p><p>            Peter felt like a massive hypocrite. Here they were talking about honesty and being on the same page and he didn’t even tell Tony about how he was being blackmailed.</p><p>            Peter let go, and Tony followed suit.</p><p>            “Oh, by the way, I didn’t ask, how was Alexa? You figure whatever it was, out?”</p><p>            At the mention of her name, anxiety rippled through Peter. This was his chance. It was now or never. Tony would understand, right? That’s what that conversation was all about, right?</p><p>            Peter waited for a beat too long and Tony looked at him curiously. Peter forced a half-smile.</p><p>            “Yeah, I figured it out,”</p><p>            “That’s good. I was thinking, maybe you could invite her for the 4<sup>th</sup>? If I need to I could—”</p><p>            “No, she and her dad have plans, she can’t come,” Peter said, with just a little too much vehemence in his voice. Tony cocked his head slightly and waited just a moment to respond.</p><p>            “Oh. Okay, well, if her plans change,”</p><p>            “Okay,”</p><p>            “By the way, I think you should probably talk to Harley about last night,” Tony said, tapping Peter's shoulder. Peter just nodded.</p><p>            He had the chance to tell Tony and he blew it.</p><p>            But how could he do that to Tony? After he finally talked to him, how could Peter burst his bubble like that? He couldn’t.</p><p>            He would just have to find another way.</p><hr/><p>            Peter avoided talking to Harley for about an hour or so after he had talked to Tony. His strategy of ignoring his looming problems seemed to be working pretty well for the moment, and he was passing the time by playing checkers with Morgan. Peter wasn’t sure if she was just really good at checkers or he was just really bad because they had played four games and Morgan had won all of them.</p><p>            He was mid-double-jump when he saw Harley walking down the stairs. Irritation painted Harley’s expression, and it transformed into annoyance when he saw Peter. Harley rolled his eyes and turned into the kitchen. Peter sighed heavily. One more fire to put out, but this one was going to be significantly harder to keep separate from the Alexa problem.  </p><p>            Peter finished his move. Peter had to go talk to him and somehow pretend that he hadn’t been right about Alexa. Shit. The spike in Peter’s heart rate when he thought of Alexa wasn’t a great indicator of how much longer he could ignore his dilemma or how much longer he could keep his equanimity.</p><p>            “Hey, Mo, I think we can say you won, what do you think?” Peter asked looking at the grinning little girl.</p><p>            Morgan looked at her large stack of his pieces and the small stack he had of her pieces and nodded.</p><p>            “Okay! Do you wanna play again?” She asked him excitedly. Peter moved to stand up from the couch.</p><p>            “Maybe a little later, yeah?”</p><p>            Morgan looked a little disappointed but nodded cheerfully.</p><p>            “See ya later kid.” Peter stood up and put a hand on her head as he walked around the couch and headed into the kitchen.</p><p>            “Hey!” Morgan exclaimed, smoothing out the pieces of hair that Peter had messed up.</p><p>            Peter ignored Morgan’s indignation and walked into the kitchen. Harley stood in front of the open fridge, staring blankly into the food-filled shelves. Peter wasn’t sure what else to say other than hello, so he started there.</p><p>            “Um, hey,”</p><p>            “Hey,” Harley replied, not sparing Peter a second glance, obviously finding the wilting lettuce in the refrigerator more interesting.</p><p>            Peter combed his fingers through his hair and leaned on the counter. They stayed like that for another 35 seconds.</p><p>            Peter counted.</p><p>            Harley closed the door to the fridge and turned towards Peter.</p><p>            “Can I help you?” Harley asked sarcastically.</p><p>            “You could help me by not acting like an ass,” Peter said, crossing his arms. Harley threw his head back and scoffed.</p><p>            “I’m the one acting like an ass? Really?” Harley asked.</p><p>            “Yeah, you are,”</p><p>            “Whatever dude, it doesn’t really seem like you give a shit about anything I have to say, so why are we even talking right now?” Harley asked, throwing his arms up. That stabbed at Peter’s mind, because, yeah, Harley was right, if he would have listened maybe he wouldn’t be dealing with this whole situation, but even still, Harley didn’t have to be a jerk.</p><p>            “That’s not true!” Peter shouted.</p><p>            “Yes, it is!” Harley returned.</p><p>            “No, it’s not!”</p><p>            “It sure as hell seems like it,”</p><p>            Peter gritted his teeth, and Harley crossed his arms. Harley turned to leave.</p><p>            “You were right, okay!” Peter blurted out, not thinking, but as soon as Harley turned back and made eye contact with him, he regretted saying it. He had not meant to say that, shit, he had NOT meant to say that. Harley stared hard at Peter.</p><p>            “What do you mean I was right?” Harley’s voice was steely and quiet. Peter covered his face with his hands.</p><p>            “Shit,”</p><p>            “Peter, what do you mean?”</p><p>            The anxiety came rushing back to his chest. This is exactly what he had wanted to avoid. He dropped his hands to his sides.</p><p>            “I’m not having this conversation in the kitchen with you, do you wanna go for a walk?”</p><p>            Harley looked at Peter skeptically and nodded.</p><p>            Peter shouted up to Tony and Pepper that Harley and he were going for a walk and that Morgan was in the living room, coloring, and they exited out the back porch door. They started walking towards the water. Harley looked intently at Peter and Peter tried to ignore his scrutiny.</p><p>            “What do you mean I’m right?” Harley asked, in the same steely voice from earlier. Peter felt like he was going to self-destruct. He had barely had enough time to process what was happening himself, and the last thing he had wanted to do was tell Harley, or anyone else, but it looked like it was going to be inevitable. Peter stopped and turned to Harley.</p><p>            “Alexa…Alexa was using me, and you were right,” Peter said, trying to keep the quiver out of his voice. Harley’s eyes flashed with…something.</p><p>            “How was she using you?” Harley asked, coolly. Peter took a shaky breath and stared at the ocean. The sky was starting to cloud over as if to match his mood, and the soft waves seemed to have more of an edge to them now. All the events from the day were beginning to settle in his mind, and it was overwhelming.</p><p>            “Peter,”</p><p>            “Yeah?”</p><p>            Harley put a hand on his shoulder and gently turned Peter to face him. The something that had flashed in his eyes earlier, Peter now recognized as fear.</p><p>            “How was she using you?”</p><p>            Peter ran a hand through his hair and blinked back the moisture in his eyes.</p><p>            “Drugs,” Peter said simply.</p><p>            “What?” Harley was obviously confused.</p><p>            “The deliveries I’ve been doing for her. It’s meth, she’s been manufacturing it, and I’ve been bringing it to her distributor all summer,”</p><p>            Harley put both hands on his head and took several stumbling steps backward.</p><p>            “Fuck, Peter.” Harley rubbed his hands across his face.</p><p>            “I know.” Peter was on the verge of tears. He was desperately trying to hold onto whatever scrap of calm he had left, but with each passing second his grip on calm slipped more and more.</p><p>            Meanwhile, Harley looked like he wanted to throw up.</p><p>            “We have to call the cops,” Harley said firmly.</p><p>            “We can’t,” Peter answered.</p><p>            “and why the hell not?”</p><p>            “Because unsurprisingly with my luck, she’s blackmailing me if I stop, or tell the cops,” Peter said. Tears now streamed silently down his face. He sat down on the beach, not caring how much sand got all over his clothes. Harley followed suit shortly after. They sat in silence, the waves that swirled loudly in front of them the only thing breaking the silence.</p><p>            Peter spoke up a few moments later.</p><p>            “You can say it if you want to,”</p><p>            Harley looked at him with a puzzled expression.</p><p>            “Say what?”</p><p>            “I told you so,” Peter said, in a melancholy tone. If Harley had been taking the situation a little less seriously, he probably would have laughed. But there was nothing funny about the situation to him. Harley turned his gaze back to the ocean.</p><p>            “What is she holding over you?”</p><p>            “I left my phone with her, and she planted incriminating texts and deleted them. They’re still on her phone though and the provider could pull my records. That’s all she <em>said</em> she had, but who the hell knows if that’s it,”</p><p>            Harley closed his eyes.</p><p>            “Then we have to tell Tony,” Harley concluded.</p><p>            Peter almost sobbed, but he caught himself. He chewed his bottom lip, something he had been doing so much today that it was bleeding.</p><p>            “I can’t do that,” Peter whispered. Harley barely heard him. Peter continued.  </p><p>            “I just talked to him today, Harley, we’re finally on the right path back to normal, and I just. Can’t. This would disappoint and stress him out so much, not to mention Pepper. Plus, May and your family are coming tomorrow, and I’m sure they would somehow get involved and I’m just not willing to involve everybody in my screw up. I didn’t even want to involve you, but I slipped up,” Peter’s chest kept tightening more and more, like someone was tightening a vice grip around his chest, and it took everything he had to take measured breaths.</p><p>            Harley punched him in the shoulder.</p><p>            “You were planning on handling this whole situation, what, by yourself? How exactly were you gonna manage that?” Harley asked in an irritated tone. “You need to learn to ask for help, you idiot,”</p><p>            Peter rolled his eyes and brought his knees up so he could lean his head on them.</p><p>            “Well I ended up telling you, didn’t I?”</p><p>            “Yeah, but only under duress,” Harley said, lightly shoving Peter’s knees.</p><p>            “You gotta understand why though, right? You get that?” Peter asked, looking imploringly at Harley.</p><p>            Harley sighed heavily and rubbed his face again. Peter could see the gears turning in his head, trying to decide whether or not to agree with him. After a minute’s deliberation, Harley spoke.</p><p>            “Yeah. Unfortunately, I do. Against my better judgment, I understand and I’m with you, but I reserve the right to call Tony when shit hits the fan,” Harley said. Peter let out what could almost have been considered a chuckle.</p><p>            “Thank you. Let’s try not to let shit hit the fan, k? I don’t think I have it in me to explain this to Tony,”</p><p>            “He wouldn’t be mad at you,” Harley said. Peter scoffed.</p><p>            “You’re right, he’d be disappointed, which is about a million times worse.” Peter sat up straight again and wiped the mostly dry tears from his face.</p><p>            “You’re being dramatic,”</p><p>            “Sue me,” Peter retorted. “I’ve had a shitty enough day that I think I’m entitled to a little drama,”</p><p>            Harley rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. Peter's chest was still tied in knots, but they had loosened ever so slightly now that he had someone else on his team.</p><p>            “So, what’s the game plan?” Harley asked.</p><p>            Peter had no idea but based on the fact that their time was going to be monopolized by their other family members the following day, they had better come up with one soon.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okayyy, I am really sorry about the long wait but we're getting back on track here. By the way, if I decided to do a sequel focusing a little more on Harley (Sort of how I'm doing Peter's story in this one, just with roles reversed,) in the same universe, would you be interested? Let me know! Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you enjoyed :) Happy Fall!</p><p>Edit: I ended up having to repost this chapter because there was a glitch in Ao3, so I ended up losing the comments I got, but I did see them, so thank you!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello, hello! What's this? 3 weeks instead of four? (shhh I know I said I was going to try to post it two weeks ago, but we won't talk about that.) Plus, this is my longest chapter yet at 5,691 words! Yay! I hope you enjoy! Lots to unpack in this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Harley’s head hung off his bed with his feet against the wall, shoveling Dorito’s into his mouth as Peter detailed yet another mediocre proposal. The two boys had spent their whole afternoon either stressing, (Peter) or trying to come up with a plan, (Harley), to no avail. They didn’t tip off Tony and Pepper with their weird behavior luckily enough, but since they were no closer to a solution, they found themselves lounging around their room at various uncomfortable angles at 1:53 in the morning, racking their already picked clean brains for ideas. Peter laid on the floor, tossing a bouncy ball up in the air and catching it repeatedly as he rambled about his latest bad idea.</p><p>            “So, I, I go to the store, right? And once I’m there, and she thinks I’m going to accept her terms, I intimidate her, I tell her that I’m not afraid of her and I’ll, I’ll <em>intimidate </em>her into turning herself in. There, that’s a good plan, right?” Peter caught his bouncy ball and turned his head to look up at Harley. Harley munched on a chip as he stared blankly at the ceiling.</p><p>            “Harley?” Peter asked again. Harley swallowed his chip and sighed.</p><p>            “That plan sucks. Hell, it’s not even really a plan, how are you going to intimidate her, genius? With your science puns? Also, have you looked in the mirror lately, you’re about as intimidating as a fluffy, baby bunny, and she’s a hardened drug lord,” Harley finished, nonchalantly tossing another chip into his mouth. Harley’s tone was bored.</p><p>            Peter scowled and looked back at the ceiling.</p><p>            “Well I don’t hear you coming up with any creative plans,” Peter grumbled and continued tossing the ball up into the air. Harley was right, it wasn’t a great plan, but at least it was something. There was a brief silence before Harley spoke.</p><p>            “What if we hacked into her phone and planted evidence against her? You know, so we can turn it around on her and Phil,”</p><p>            Peter looked thoughtful at that suggestion, but his thoughtful expression quickly changed to one of doubt.</p><p>            “Yeah, we could do that. If I had a computer and a bunch of time to spare. I can hack, but I’m really slow, and if Alexa is as put together as I think she is, she’ll have firewalls on her phone, computer, servers, it’ll be hellish to get into. We don’t have that kind of time,” Peter said, throwing his ball up in the air once again.</p><p>            Harley muttered under his breath.</p><p>            “Well at least it’s a better plan then, ‘I’ll intimidate her into turning herself in.’…”</p><p>            There was a thick silence that blanketed the room until Harley spoke again.</p><p>            “I know you don’t want to hear this dude, but telling Tony is looking more and more appealing,”</p><p>            Peter shot up and glared at Harley. Harley continued staring at the ceiling and munching on his chips.</p><p>            “I already told you why I don’t want to do that,”</p><p>            Harley curved his neck to an unnatural angle just to look at Peter without having to move more than he absolutely had to and gestured lazily with one of his Doritos.</p><p>            “Dude, I know, so you keep telling me. And I get it, but the fact remains that we don’t have any good ideas. We aren’t exactly equipped for this and who knows what she actually has over you. I’m just trying to be smart about this.” Harley grimaced at the strain he had been putting on his neck, and let it go back to its original position before eating the Dorito he had previously been gesturing with. Peter groaned in frustration.</p><p>            “You’re killing me, Harley,”</p><p>            Harley rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Ditto,”</p><p>            Peter stood up from where he was sitting on the ground and took a couple chips out of the bag that Harley was currently hogging. With chips in hand, Peter launched into the same spiel he had already given to Harley at least three times that night.</p><p>            “I’m tired of everyone cleaning up my messes, ok? It’s not like it’s that big of a deal—” Harley snorted at that. “Ok, it is a big deal, but the fact is, that I can handle this. I don’t want to involve Tony, for more than one reason, and if you want to stay out of it too, I totally get that, but I’m going to figure this out,” Peter ate one of the chips in his hand.</p><p>            Harley grabbed the nearest pillow and tossed it at Peter halfheartedly.</p><p>            “As if,”</p><p>            “As if, what?” Peter asked, through a mouth full of chips.</p><p>            “As if I’m gonna stay out of dealing with a crazy drug lord,” Harley said. Peter looked at him with a pained expression, and there was a brief silence before Peter spoke again.</p><p>            “You know she’s not technically a drug lord, right?” Peter asked. Harley closed his eyes and already regretted asking his next question.</p><p>            “What do you mean?”</p><p>            Peter swallowed his chips and sat on the edge of his bed.</p><p>            “Technically, a drug lord is in control of a whole bunch of people that are involved in the illegal trade of drugs, technically, she’s just the manufacturer, as far as we know anyway,” Peter finished. Harley kept his eyes closed.</p><p>            “Aaaaand you know this why?” Harley asked.</p><p>            “Kinda comes with Spider-Man’s territory I guess,”</p><p>            “Final question, does it matter what part of the drug operation she is?”</p><p>            Peter seemed to be loving the distraction from his actual problems and went into an animated definition of why exactly it <em>did</em> matter.</p><p>            “Well actually, it does, cause different involvement with the drugs is charged differently in court, and—”</p><p>            Harley opened his eyes again. His last question had been laced with sarcasm, but apparently Peter had missed that. Oh well, he might as well learn something new. Harley closed his eyes and continued munching on his chips while Peter went on about drug cartels, and who did what within them. It sort of freaked him out how much Peter knew about drug cartels, but truthfully, he was as grateful for the distraction as Peter was.</p><p>            Peter had just gotten to the part about the different sentencing for different drug-related crimes and was attempting to show the contrasting sentences with the random items on the dresser to his left when the door creaked open and made him jump approximately two feet. Seeing Peter jump, Harley sat up abruptly and spun around on his bed till his feet were on the floor. Harley looked towards where the sound had originated, as did Peter.</p><p>            A bleary-eyed Tony leaned on the door, looking at them groggily. His hair stuck up in all different directions, and he had a sleepy expression on his face.</p><p>            Peter and Harley gave each other an apprehensive side-eye, both praying silently that Tony hadn’t heard any of their earlier discussion.</p><p>            Tony rubbed a hand across his face and yawned.</p><p>            “Guys, it’s like, 2 am,” Tony said.</p><p>            The boys let out a quiet breath they had been holding, relieved that it didn’t seem like Tony had heard the conversation about Alexa. Peter recovered first.</p><p>            “Um, yeah, sorry did we wake you up?” Peter asked casually.</p><p>            Tony blinked a couple times, waking up a little more.</p><p>            “Sorta. It’s fine but—wait you guys aren’t fighting anymore? You guys weren’t talking at dinner,” Tony stated blandly, looking between the two boys.</p><p>            That was true, but not because they were mad at each other. Harley was picking through the numerous bad ideas and schemes his brain was willingly supplying, and Peter was still internally panicking, so, they just hadn’t talked much. Harley responded.</p><p>            “Nah, we’re fine now,”</p><p>            Tony scratched his head and yawned again.</p><p>            “Um, ok, anyway, listen, I’m glad you’re getting along again, but everyone’s coming tomorrow, so you should probably get some sleep, yeah?”</p><p>            Harley held back a slight eye-roll. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing his mother who he had been arguing with all summer. His mom had taken it upon herself to choose his classes for him since he hadn’t picked any, and that had sparked yet another argument. She had wanted to talk on the phone before she came out for the 4<sup>th</sup> of July, but Harley had been ignoring her phone calls.  </p><p>            “Sure, sorry we woke you up, Tony,” Peter answered, interrupting Harley’s thoughts about his mom.</p><p>            “It’s fine, no big deal, it’s just late, so,”</p><p>            “Yeah, we’ll go to bed soon,”</p><p>            Tony shot them a thumbs up and turned to leave, closing the door behind him.</p><p>            Peter let out a puff of air.</p><p>            “I thought for sure he heard us,” Peter whispered loudly to Harley. Harley shrugged.</p><p>            “Nah, he was still half asleep, probably woke up cause you were being loud about drug cartels,”</p><p>            Peter rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “I was just saying that she isn’t technically a drug lord as far as we know,”</p><p>            “You definitely said more than that, but I won’t hold it against you,”</p><p>            Peter shook his head, apparently giving up arguing with Harley and changed the subject.</p><p>            “Well, we still haven’t gotten anywhere,”</p><p>            “Nope,” Harley responded.</p><p>            Peter stood up.</p><p>“I am freaking tired though, so sleep sounds kinda great. Guess we can work on it tomorrow before they get here…” Peter walked towards the door. Harley looked up and nodded.</p><p>“Where are you going?” Harley asked. Peter turned back to Harley before opening the door to leave the room.</p><p>“To brush my teeth, I forgot how nasty Doritos were,”</p>
<hr/><p>            A door creaked open and through it, two creeping figures entered a small light green bedroom. Two twin beds were on each side of the room and two brown haired heads popped out over the top of their cream-colored bed covers. The light snores that emanated from the beds indicated one thing.</p><p>            They slept soundly.</p><p>            But not for long.</p><p>            The skulking figures tip-toed farther into the room, one going towards the left bed and the other going towards the right. The figures made eye contact for a split second and nodded in mutual understanding. It was time.</p>
<hr/><p>            Peter was jolted awake by a horrid tingling covering every inch of his body and a nasty nausea set in. His world was shaking. This was not good, not good at all. Peter kept his eyes closed and tried to remain calm. This wasn’t how he was gonna go, not on his watch. He tried to take a breath and swallow his nausea. His bed, as that’s what he decided it was, continued to shake. Peter snapped his eyes open and sat up, arms in attack position, finally ready to face his antagonist, and—</p><p>            “You really shouldn’t freaking do that, May, it’s enough to give me an actual freaking heart attack,”</p><p>He let out a sigh of relief, and let his arms drop to the covers, and May stopped shaking the end of the bed. A smile crept across her face as she looked at her nephew, who was still breathing heavily.</p><p>Peter's spidey-sense started to die down once he knew Alexa and her henchman weren’t the ones tormenting him, and he noticed that May wasn’t the only one in the room with him. Harley sat in his bed looking slightly frazzled and at the end of his bed, a tall strawberry blond girl with dark makeup, a wide grin, and approximately 17 bracelets around each of her wrists leaned against Harley’s footboard.  </p><p>May walked around the side of the bed, arms open to Peter for a hug. Despite Peter’s still palpitating heart, he reciprocated the gesture and gave May a weak smile.</p><p>“Well, it was Jules's idea, not mine,” May supplied, without a hint of remorse.</p><p>May couldn’t see Peter rolling his eyes from her position, but rest assured, he was rolling his eyes.</p><p>In contrast to Peter and May’s reunion, Jules had just come around the side of Harley’s bed, grabbed one of the two pillows that had somehow migrated from the top of the bed to the bottom, and smacked Harley square in the chest. Harley, being too busy rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, didn’t notice when his sister picked up the fluffy weapon, so he flinched back in surprise at the impact. He scowled at Jules.</p><p>“You need to get better people skills,” Harley said through a yawn. Jules smirked and turned to face Peter and May. She leaned forward and held out her hand for Peter to take.</p><p>“Hey, I’m Jules, nice to meet you finally,”</p><p>Peter returned the gesture and shook her hand. Her bracelets rattled noisily.</p><p>“Yeah, nice to meet you,”</p><p>“Well, if you weren’t Jules, I think we’d have major issues on our hands,” Harley quipped, confirming to Peter that he had originally thought the same thing he had. That Alexa and whoever she brought with her, were there for them. This was probably a stupid assumption, considering Alexa didn’t even know where Peter lived, but still. Both Peter and Harley were on edge and having that kind of awakening wasn’t exactly good for the ol’ nerves. Jules turned back around and smiled sweetly.</p><p>“I’m just introducing myself, Harley, it’s the polite thing to do,” Jules said, her southern drawl more evident than previously. Harley put on a smile as sweet as cough syrup and replied in the strongest southern accent he could muster.</p><p>“Well, ain’tcha a fine southern lady who is SO polite,”</p><p>Jules rolled her eyes and turned back to Peter again.</p><p>“Can I borrow your pillow?”</p><p>Peter smirked and handed her his pillow, which she proceeded to throw at Harley. Harley at least had the good sense to duck this time.</p><p>The pillow still hit him.</p><p>            May looked on laughing at the whole interaction.</p><p>            Harley popped up once he deemed it safe.</p><p>            “You done throwing stuff at me at this ungodly hour of,” He reached out and picked up his phone. “8:23 in the morning,”</p><p>            Jules raised her eyebrows.</p><p>            “You’ll never know,”</p><p>            Peter shook his head and looked at May.</p><p>            “How was your flight?”</p><p>            May smiled.</p><p>            “It was good, real smooth ride all the way,”</p><p>            Peter nodded in return and swung his legs out of bed. Harley and Jules were still bickering on their half of the room.</p><p>            May leaned over and whispered in Peter’s ear.</p><p>            “Aren’t you glad I didn’t let you come home the first week?”</p><p>            Peter stared blankly at her. If he had gone home the first week, he never would have gotten caught up with Alexa, and he never would have been an actual drug mule. At the same time, if he had gone home the first week, he would have regretted being the only one not there. So. Yes and no?</p><p>            “Yeah I am,” Peter said smiling at her. May smiled back and hugged him.</p><p>            <em>Too bad I’ve been a drug dealer this whole time…</em> Peter thought.</p><p>            May stood up distracting Harley and Jules from their bickering.</p><p>            “Why don’t we go downstairs and eat breakfast or something?”</p><p>            May got a trio of nods, so Harley pulled himself out of bed as did Peter and away they went.</p><p>            May started walking down the stairs and everyone else followed.</p><p>            Harley yawned.</p><p>            “I thought you guys weren’t coming till later,” Harley commented.  </p><p>            “Mom was able to switch our flight to an earlier one, and May already had an early flight.” Jules shrugged nonchalantly.</p><p>            Harley froze on the stairs. Since he stopped, Peter and Jules also stopped. Peter gave Harley a puzzled look.</p><p>            “Why are we stopping?” Peter asked. The smell of waffles and bacon wafted up the stairs and Peter was starving. Harley facepalmed.</p><p>            “Dude, why are you keeping us in suspense and being dramatic?” Jules asked, sharing the same hungry look Peter had. Harley let his hand and his voice drop.</p><p>            “Mom’s here,”</p><p>            “Yeah, duh, we know this,” Jules said, giving Harley an irritated look. Harley rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “Yeah, I know, but…I forgot,”</p><p>            “You…forgot?” Peter asked, dumbly. “Your memory was intact last night,”</p><p>            May had long since reached the kitchen and she must have backtracked because she was back at the bottom of the stairs looking at them weirdly.</p><p>            “You coming?”</p><p>            Peter shot her a thumbs up.</p><p>            “Yeah, just a sec,”</p><p>            May still looked at them like they were criminals but nodded and went back to the kitchen.</p><p>            Jules, without May distracting her, looked back at Harley.</p><p>            “I know you and mom have been fighting all summer, but you guys seriously need to get it together, mostly cause I’m tired of mom sighing at the phone all the time, but you know, my only two family members getting along might be nice,”</p><p>            Harley screwed up his face in offense and looked at her.</p><p>            “Mom’s been ‘sighing’ at me? How do you know she’s not ‘sighing’ at the stock market prices going down?”</p><p>            Jules blinked.</p><p>            “Not to interrupt your family bonding, but your whispers aren’t super quiet, and it’s pretty damn quiet downstairs, so they can probably hear you,” Peter whispered. Harley sighed loudly.</p><p>            It was at that very moment that Helen Keener made her appearance at the bottom of the stairs.</p><p>            “Hey, kids, you gonna come down, or are you gonna have a picnic on the stairs? Hi, by the way,”</p><p>            Helen smiled brightly putting her hands in her hoodie pockets.</p><p>            Harley directed a slight wave and a weak semblance of a smile in Helen's general direction. Then he looked at Peter and Jules in turn.</p><p>            “Well, y’all have fun now,” He whispered to them, and was just about to turn around and retreat, when Jules wrapped an arm around his shoulder and started walking down the stairs, Harley coming with her against his will. Harley looked at the ceiling, in a “why me?” gesture, but nevertheless kept walking.</p><p>            Peter, more than a little confused, followed. Peter knew that Harley had been having some issues with school and his mom, but Harley hadn’t really given Peter much information about it, and he had been sort of wrapped up in his own problems all summer so he hadn’t bothered to ask about it. Peter felt a pang of guilt for that. Another thing to add to his list of screw-ups that summer. Awesome.</p><p>            Once they were finally at the bottom of the stairs, Harley gave his mom a hug that was so strained, a tight rope walker could take a walk on the tension it created.  </p><p>            “You didn’t text me back last night,” Helen said, letting go of Harley and creasing her eyebrows.</p><p>            Harley clenched his teeth and ran a hand through his hair.</p><p>            “Can we not talk about this right now, Mom?” Harley said, in a stiff tone. Helen frowned.</p><p>            “Not talk about what, I just said that you didn’t text me back,”</p><p>            Harley let out a loud breath and walked purposefully away from his mother and towards the cabinet that Tony was standing next to. That cabinet, coincidentally, also had a plate of waffles sitting on it.</p><p>            Pepper, who was standing near the table exchanged a glance with Tony, and May sent Peter a questioning look.</p><p>            “What’s up with him?” May mouthed. Peter just shrugged.</p><p>            What a super awesome time for Peter to drag Harley into dealing with a drug manufacturer. He obviously had something going on that he hadn’t told anyone about, and Peter was now making things even more complicated and stressful for Harley.</p><p>            Awesome.  </p>
<hr/><p>            Sun poured through the front windows of Snapshot, pooling in golden puddles on the floor of the near-empty shop. Alexa knelt under one of these windows and shelved books, lost in thought. Peter had found out what he was involved in the day before, and now she was waiting around for Phil to show up so she could fill him in on exactly what happened. The situation was nothing more than a minor inconvenience and she did have safeguards in place, however, she wanted to make sure Phil and she were on the same page should something go wrong. Alexa put another book on the shelf.</p><p>            It really was unfortunate that the kid had found out. She had liked him a lot.</p><p>            Oh well. People come and they go, especially in her business. Alexa brushed a piece of hair away from her face and took the last book out of the box she had been emptying to put it on the shelf.</p><p>            She stood up, taking the box with her, and walked around the shelf to the other side where Mathew Cook was stocking cameras.</p><p>            “The other sides done,” Alexa said, holding up an empty box in testimony.</p><p>            Mathew looked up from what he was doing and smiled at Alexa.</p><p>            “Thanks, kiddo,”</p><p>            Just then, the door jingled as someone walked in. Mathew peaked around the corner and Alexa just barely turned her head, already knowing who it was.</p><p>            Phil, in a baggy gray sweatshirt and jeans, walked into the shop, frowning uncomfortably.</p><p>            Mathew’s face hardened as he realized who it was. He stood up from his sitting position to face his unwanted visitor.</p><p>            “What are <em>you</em> doing here?” Mathew asked in a quiet voice. Phil itched his left shoulder and stared on.</p><p>            “I’m uh, here to, uh, see Alexa,” Phil muttered uncomfortably. Mathew frowned.</p><p>            “Why?”</p><p>            Alexa interjected before Phil could answer.</p><p>            “He’s just here to talk to me for a bit. It’s been a little bit since I’ve seen him, and I wanted to catch up with him. He did take care of me for five years, Dad, it’s not like I just forgot him,” Alexa prodded. A guilty expression washed over her dad’s irritated face as he looked between Alexa and Phil. He clenched his teeth.</p><p>            “Fine, I’m gonna go get some coffee then,” Mathew said, going to walk out the front door. Before turning the handle, he turned back and looked at Phil.</p><p>            “I’ll be back in thirty, and I’ll bring <em>Alexa</em> something to drink,” With that not-so-subtle hint for Phil to be gone by the time he got back, he was on his way. Alexa sighed.</p><p>            Phil and her Dad had a massive falling out before their college graduation. Alexa had never gotten the full details of that fight. If she ever asked about it, her dad’s only response was to mutter something about Phil always taking the easy way out. In all honesty, the fight didn’t really matter to Alexa, but in the end, the only reason her dad tolerated Phil’s presence was because Phil took her in when he was blipped. If that wasn’t the case, her dad would have thrown him out on his ear.</p><p>            Alexa looked out the door and waited for her dad to turn the corner before locking the door and turning the sign.</p><p>            “Let’s go down into my office for this chat,” Alexa said, looking at Phil.</p><p>            Phil itched his shoulder again.</p><p>            “That’s a good idea,”</p><p>            Alexa led the way and pretty soon, they were through the white door, down the old steps, and sitting in two swivel chairs.</p><p>            “So, what the hell happened? Does the kid know, has he told anyone? You got the leverage, right?” Phil asked question after question, rapid-fire. Alexa rolled her eyes.</p><p>            “Relax, Phil, lemme tell you what happened,”</p><p>            Alexa began telling Phil about everything that had happened the day before, starting with Peter’s prying questions when he came to pick up Phil’s delivery, and ending with her confrontation with him after he came back.</p><p>            Somewhere along the lines of Alexa’s story, Phil had stood up and begun pacing. He twisted his hands in his hoody pocket over and over again, getting more stressed out the longer Alexa spoke.</p><p>            When Alexa finally stopped, somewhere along the ten-minute mark, Phil turned to look at her.</p><p>            “I <em>told </em>you using someone from out of town was a bad idea, I told you. And now look, I was right, he found out, and he’ll probably go to the cops,”</p><p>            Alexa rolled her eyes at Phil’s dramatics.</p><p>            “Phil, it’s fine. I have leverage. Plus, I only told him about the planted texts, I didn’t mention that I hacked his bank account records and edited in some, shall we say, shady transactions,” Phil stopped his pacing and frowned at Alexa.</p><p>            “You should not be this calm Alexa; we could have our whole operation blown because of this! This is not good!”</p><p>            Alexa frowned at Phil’s outburst.</p><p>            “It’ll be fine, he’ll come back in a week like a scared puppy, and he’ll finish the summer.” Alexa swiveled slightly in her chair. Phil shook his head and scratched his left arm aggressively.</p><p>            “That’s not a risk we can take. No. We should get out while we can. We need to wipe this whole damn basement clean, I’ll run the last batch, and I’ll move, we—”</p><p>            Alexa jumped out of her chair angrily.</p><p>            “Are you kidding me? We’re making more money than we could have possibly dreamed of! This is the only thing that is keeping Snapshot up and running—”</p><p>            “Maybe it should go out of business Alexa! It’s past it’s prime!” Phil turned his back to Alexa. He hadn’t stopped scratching his arm since the conversation began. “I knew I shouldn’t have let it go this far. I knew as soon as you started making it three years ago. We need to run this batch and—”</p><p>            “I’m not going to let you freak out and throw all this progress away! We have it handled, he’s a dumb kid. I won’t let him ruin it for us! If my dad lost this business, he would be devastated, and I’m planning on going to college with this money,” Alexa said, a fire in her eyes that would have scared a pyromaniac. Phil’s back still faced her. He spoke up quietly.</p><p>            “And what if he goes to the cops?”</p><p>            “We have evidence against him,”</p><p>            “Not a lot,”</p><p>            “We have enough,”</p><p>            Phil turned around to face Alexa again. They stared into one another’s eyes, each trying to convince the other to follow their plan. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Phil spoke.</p><p>            “Fine. You’re right. The money is too good to lose,”</p><p>            Alexa nodded.</p><p>            “Too good to lose over someone who we can take down so easily,”</p><p>            Phil itched his chin this time.</p><p>            “Keep me updated, if he does anything out of line, call me,”</p><p>            “I will, we won’t go down because of this,” Alexa said firmly.</p><p>            Phil stared at the ceiling for a moment.</p><p>            “Ok. I have to go, I don’t want to see your dad again,”</p><p>            Alexa nodded in understanding, and they both walked up the stairs. When they reached the top, Alexa turned around and peered down the staircase at her lab. It was nice and clean since she had just cleaned up from the last batch.</p><p>            She slapped the light switch off and closed the door.</p>
<hr/><p>            Harley sat on the back patio of the beach house, doing his absolute best to stay as far away from his mother as possible. His mom had already tried to bring up his classes four separate times and she had only been there for a little over two and a half hours. He had zero desire to lose it on his mother in front of his entire family, so, he resorted to hiding on the patio. It was hot and sticky out, but it was better than being grilled about his opinion on the schedule his mom picked, considering he hadn’t even wanted a schedule in the first place and he just wanted to go to college.</p><p>            He sighed and burrowed deeper into the patio chair he was sitting in, trying to remain unseen from the glass door just a couple feet behind him. The stress from the day before and from that morning was starting to get to him a little bit. He still had no idea what to do for Peter, and would just assume they should tell Tony, and he had no idea how he was going to get out of going for senior year. He supposed he could wait till October when he legally turned eighteen, and just drop out and take the GED then. But then again, that would probably make his mom upset which wasn’t his goal either. If she could just see it from his point of view…</p><p>            His contemplations were interrupted by the vibration of his phone.</p><p>
  <strong>Peter: You know, if you’re trying to hide, might I suggest somewhere without a glass door directly behind you?</strong>
</p><p>Harley sunk lower in his seat.</p><p>
  <strong>Harley: I’m open to suggestions</strong>
</p><p>Harley took a sly glance behind him to see if Peter was by the door. He wasn’t. Harley’s phone buzzed again.</p><p>
  <strong>Peter: Don’t worry, I haven’t given away your location, but Jules might…</strong>
</p><p>Harley shook his head and before he could text back, Peter texted again.</p><p>
  <strong>Peter: btw, I’m feeling a tiny bit lost with this whole situation. What’s going on? I knew you had a disagreement, but you won’t even sit in the same room as her</strong>
</p><p>Harley snorted. Ha, <em>a </em>disagreement wouldn’t be an issue. They had <em>many </em>disagreements.</p><p>
  <strong>Harley: Correction: Several disagreements. Unresolved.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Peter: Oh joy. This summer is so awesome</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harley: Totally. </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Harley: Speaking of, put off any plans till Monday, right? Don’t think we’ll be able to come up with one with everyone around</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Peter: Yeah, I guess just keep thinking about it…</strong>
</p><p>Harley turned off his phone and closed his eyes. To Harley’s utmost dismay, just a few seconds later, the sliding glass door opened. Harley opened his eyes. The clinking of bracelets announced who it was clearly enough, so Harley didn’t even bother looking up.</p><p>Jules leaned over the top of the chair he was sunk into and looked at him from above. Harley craned his neck uncomfortably to look at her.</p><p>“Caaaan I help you?” Harley asked. Jules blinked.</p><p>“You really suck at hiding,” Jules commented.</p><p>“Well, you really suck at not blowing my cover,”</p><p>Jules rolled her eyes.</p><p>“You should talk to Mom,”</p><p>“Yeah, well, I’ll add her to the list of people I should talk to. And don’t tell me what to do, gosh, you’re not the boss of me,” Harley said, sticking out his tongue for good measure.</p><p>“You’re a child, you know that?”</p><p>“Uno reverse,”</p><p>“Dead meme,”</p><p>“That meme could never die,” Harley said in indignation.</p><p>Jules shook her, head.</p><p>“Fine, if you’re gonna be anti-social, at least come be anti-social with Peter and me. I think he’s convincing Tony to let him borrow the car, and then we’re gonna go to 7-11, you in?”</p><p>“An escape that doesn’t include breaking my neck in a wicker chair or dying of heat exhaustion? Sold!” Harley exclaimed and jumped out of his seat.</p>
<hr/><p>            Tony sat on the couch with his arm around Pepper. Peter had convinced Tony to let him take Tony’s car to 7-11 with Harley and Jules, so they were off galivanting somewhere, and Morgan was laying on the floor drawing. The morning had been a whirlwind with May, Helen, and Jules arriving, but now that everyone had settled in, it gave the four adults time to catch up. May and Helen sat in the two easy chairs, talking.</p><p>            Their conversation had been mostly lighthearted, with nothing of real consequence coming up, so Tony allowed himself to drift into his own thoughts. The thing, or rather the person, occupying his thoughts currently, was Harley.</p><p>            Harley had been avoiding Helen since she had arrived, and Tony wondered if they had been fighting. It might explain why Harley had been so testy lately and if Tony had to guess what they had been fighting about, he would guess school, since Helen kept bringing it up, and Harley kept shutting her down. The only thing Tony didn’t get, was why. Why would they be fighting about school? To Tony’s knowledge, Harley was doing fine in school, and was set to graduate in the spring, so what seemed to be the issue? Tony scratched his chin as he tried to tune back into the conversation that had been going on around him.</p><p>            They seemed to be talking about what May had been up to over the summer, but Tony couldn’t be sure since he hadn’t been paying attention.  </p><p>            “Anyway, thankfully the hospital has been pretty slow, so I haven’t been too busy on that front,” May finished. Pepper nodded.</p><p>            “That’s good,” Pepper responded.</p><p>            There was a lull in the conversation before May spoke up again.</p><p>            “So how have things been here? How’s Peter and Harley doing?”  May asked. Pepper looked interestedly at Tony, waiting for his response.</p><p>            “They seem to be getting better. Peter’s come out of his shell a lot, Harley…seems…stressed?” Tony offered, looking to Helen for confirmation. Helen sighed quietly and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.</p><p>            “I think he’s nervous about going back to school this semester,” Helen said, leaning forward in her chair. Tony quirked his eyebrows up.</p><p>            “Why’s that?” Tony asked. Helen shrugged.</p><p>            “I don’t know. He’s going on about skipping senior year and getting a GED, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s not gonna get the closure he needs after everything that’s happened if he does that, and I’m pretty sure he’s just nervous anyway,” Helen said. Tony looked at Helen, composing his next sentence.</p><p>            “Jules is going to college this fall, right?” Tony asked. Helen nodded vigorously.</p><p>            “Yep. Knoxville for architecture. She’s gonna dorm up there too,” Helen said, smiling a little sadly. Tony looked at her knowingly.</p><p>            “I see,”</p><p>            “What made her choose architecture?” Pepper asked. Tony didn’t hear Helen's response because he had sunk back into his thoughts again.</p><p>            So, Harley wanted to take the GED and his mom didn’t want him to. Tony would bet anything that it wasn’t Harley that needed closure, but Helen. If anything, the only way Harley was going to get closure, was by going to college at the same time as his not-so-little sister. Everything seemed to become more focused through this new lens of understanding.</p><p>            Tony just wished that Harley would have told him. Tony sighed internally.</p><p>            They really needed to work on their communication.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! I want to thank everyone for their comments and Kudos, by the way, it means a lot to me! So, thank you, thank you! I'm gonna try to keep a schedule, (famous last words) of updating every two to three weeks. Let me know your thoughts in the comments! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well hello there. Chapter 16! Definitely had a whole updating schedule planned out on a wall calendar, but you know. Life. Anywho, hope you enjoy and have a great Thanksgiving next week! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter sipped a glass of orange juice at the kitchen table as he watched Harley lose his fifth consecutive game of rock, paper, scissors with Morgan.</p><p>            “Are you a mind reader?” Harley asked Morgan in both awe and horror. Morgan giggled but didn’t answer. Harley turned to Peter.</p><p>            “You gotta play a game of rock paper scissors with me, I’m going crazy. Losing five times is statistically impossible,” Harley said seriously.</p><p>            “Techn—” Peter began, but Harley interrupted.</p><p>            “I don’t care if it’s ‘technically’ not statistically impossible, just play a game with me,”</p><p>            Peter rolled his eyes but held out his fist and Harley did the same. After the usual ‘rock, paper, scissors’ chant, Peter chose rock.</p><p>            Harley chose scissors.</p><p>            “Unbelievable,” Harley muttered. Peter snickered and Morgan shrugged. Then, Morgan stood up on her chair.</p><p>            “Do ya like my outfit?” Morgan asked excitedly, changing the subject from Harley’s bad luck. She was wearing a blue and silver tutu, with silver stars scattered over it, a bright red shirt with a grey kitten on it, and red, white, and blue scrunchies on her wrists.</p><p>            She was by far the most patriotic of the three, considering Peter was wearing some denim shorts and a red t-shirt, and Harley was wearing a black t-shirt and khakis.</p><p>            Before either Harley or Peter could respond to Morgan’s question, Tony walked into the kitchen.</p><p>            “I love your outfit Mo, the color coordination is great,” Tony said, going around the table and picking her up from behind. Morgan quirked her head at Tony.</p><p>            “What’s coordination mean?”</p><p>            Tony was about to respond to her, when Pepper, Helen, and May walked into the kitchen, and Pepper answered instead.</p><p>            “It means that they go together really well,”</p><p>            Morgan nodded, and Tony put her down.</p><p>            “Breakfast?” Tony asked the room. He received a chorus of affirmatives, and so he headed over to one of the cabinets.</p><p>            Peter snickered again and sipped his orange juice.</p><p>            The day before had been uneventful once Jules, Peter, and Harley got back from their snack run. Harley avoided his mom a little less, (key words being <em>a little</em>) and Peter tried really hard to come up with a strategy to deal with Alexa without acting suspicious, which had mixed results. No one was suspicious, but his plans were still relatively unrealistic. So far, he had come up with a plan that involved him, Alexa, and a stray drug-sniffing dog, one that included him, Harley, and a bunch of rope, and finally one that included a goldfish. Yeah. Not overly promising. He tried to not let his lack of usable inspiration discourage him, but, when half of his plans included stray dogs and goldfish, well…</p><p>It was fine. It would come to him.</p><p>Hopefully.      </p><p>            In the meantime, he was going to try to enjoy the fourth of July with his family. Peter looked around the noisy kitchen. Harley apparently wanted a rematch with Morgan, because he was playing rock, paper, scissors with her again, Pepper was helping Tony cook, and May and Helen were sipping coffee from mugs and talking by the sink. Peter smiled softly.</p><p>            He sipped his juice again and opened up his messenger app on his phone to text Ned and MJ.</p><p>            <strong>Peter: Hey guys! Happy 4<sup>th</sup> of July. You doing anything today?</strong></p><p>He put down his phone and chugged the rest of his juice. He looked around the room again, but this time, a slight frown crossed his face.</p><p>            “Where’s Jules?” Peter asked, in the general direction of May and Helen.</p><p>            “Still sleeping.” Helen rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. Peter nodded and looked back down at his phone. He was greeted with three new notifications. Dang, they were fast texters when they wanted to be.</p><p>            <strong>Ned: </strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZUcpVmEHuk&amp;app=desktop"><strong>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZUcpVmEHuk&amp;app=desktop</strong></a></p><p>
  <strong>            Ned: Lol, just kidding…mostly. Happy 4<sup>th</sup>, probably just gonna re-watch Star Wars: A New Hope for the trillionth time, how bout you? </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: You mean happy birthday, Captain America? I’m going to watch fireworks on top of my apartment building, but that’s it. What about you, does Harley still have the nukes in your cold war?</strong>
</p><p>            Peter followed Ned’s link and snickered.</p><p>            <strong>Peter: Couple things. I thought his birthday being on the 4<sup>th</sup> was a myth? And Harley has relinquished his nukes, for the moment at least. As for plans, I have no idea. </strong></p><p>MJ responded immediately.</p><p>
  <strong>            MJ: Does it matter if it is a myth? </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>            Peter: …You make a fair point. Happy Birthday, Captain America. </strong>
</p><p>            Peter put his phone in his pocket.</p><p>            A few minutes later, they all sat down to have breakfast. French toast, eggs, and sausage were on the menu for the morning, and just looking at it made Peter’s stomach growl. They dug in.</p><p>            “So, I figured Harley and I could go find a firework stand after breakfast and maybe get some sparklers and maybe some firecrackers, what do you think?” Tony asked, looking at Harley.</p><p>            Harley looked up from his plate and swallowed his mouthful of food before responding.</p><p>            “Sure, I’m always down to get some explosives,” Harley said, casually taking another bite of French toast. Tony raised his eyebrows.</p><p>            “I don’t think sparklers are considered explosives,”</p><p>            Harley rolled his eyes.</p><p>            “You and Peter, always correcting me. Sparklers aren’t explosives, losing five times in a row isn’t statistically impossible, she’s a manuf—”</p><p>            Peter dropped his fork and knife very loudly on the floor and cleared his throat. Harley looked at Peter strangely, before realizing what he had almost said. His face turned a barely noticeable shade of red. Peter noticed everyone else looking at him. He muttered an apology and picked up his silverware. Harley cleared his throat.</p><p>            “Anyway, yeah, let’s get some fireworks,” Harley finished awkwardly and took a large bite of food to shut himself up. Everyone at the table looked at them weirdly, but they all moved on to the next subject quickly enough, to Harley and Peters great relief.</p><p>            “So how goes the party planning?” Helen asked Pepper eagerly.</p><p>            Peter looked up from his food at that.</p><p>            “We’re actually doing that?” He asked. Neither Tony nor Pepper had mentioned anything to him after his original suggestion.</p><p>            Tony raised his eyebrows and gave Peter a half-smile before sipping his coffee. Peter snorted quietly and listened to what Pepper was about to say.</p><p>            “Yeah, it’s going well, I think we’ve got our full guest list now, and we’re going to do it on the 26<sup>th</sup>, still got a few details to work out though, you guys are still going to come, right?” Pepper looked expectantly between May and Helen.</p><p>            “Oh, I’ll definitely be here,” May said as she spiked a piece of sausage onto her fork. Helen nodded as well.</p><p>            “Jules and I are planning on coming out too,”</p><p>            Harley looked at Tony and Pepper and frowned slightly.</p><p>            “How come you never told Peter or me?” He asked, with just a hint of indignance in his tone. Pepper looked at Tony and then back at Harley.</p><p>            “I guess it just never came up?” Pepper offered. Tony shrugged and nodded.</p><p>            “Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, yeah, we’re having it, so,” Tony gave the boys finger guns, prompting an eye-roll from both. The conversation about the party continued, about who all was coming, and what plans had been made, but the boys kept relatively quiet since they hadn’t been looped in.</p><p>            After they had all finished their breakfast, Tony stood up.</p><p>            “Okay, quest for fireworks, you ready Harley?”</p><p>            Harley stood up too and stretched his arms.</p><p>            “Yeah, let’s do it. I just gotta grab my shoes,”</p><p>            Tony snapped his fingers and started walking towards the staircase.</p><p>            “That reminds me, I gotta grab my beard,”</p><p>            Harley closed his eyes as he remembered the straggly looking grey and brown beard.</p><p>            “Is that really, one hundred percent necessary?” Harley asked. Tony kept walking.</p><p>            “Yes, it is, don’t wanna be mobbed, do we?” Tony called over his shoulder. Harley didn’t respond but opted to just sigh and go find his shoes.</p><p>            Helen snickered a little.</p><p>            “Well, I actually wanted to take a little walk on the beach this morning, that agree with everyone’s plans?” Helen asked the table. Pepper responded.</p><p>            “Yeah, absolutely, let me just get all this cleaned up and we can go,”</p><p>            “Oh, why don’t you guys head out? Peter and I can clean up, right Peter?” May said, glancing at Peter. Peter got the feeling that May probably wanted to talk to him about something, so he just nodded, and mentally listed the million things that May could grill him about. Pepper cocked her head.</p><p>            “Are you sure?”</p><p>            May grinned widely.</p><p>            “Yeah, it’ll give Peter and me some time to talk. Once we’re done, we can catch up to you three.” May gestured at Helen, Pepper, and Morgan. “We might even be able to wake up Jules.” May laughed.</p><p>            “Good luck with that,” Helen muttered. Pepper nodded.</p><p>            “Okay. I guess I’ll see you in a few then,”</p><p>            May nodded and the three got up in pursuit of their shoes.</p><hr/><p>            Harley sat in the front seat of the car and scrolled through his map’s app, looking for any firework stands nearby. Since most firework stands were pop up operations, not too many of them actually showed up on the map, but he had found a few, the closest of which was fifteen minutes away. Tony was currently driving to that one, but Harley decided to keep looking just in case that specific one was sold out or something like that. Though Harley was scrolling through his phone, he couldn’t ignore the side-eyes that Tony was giving him. Mostly because Tony had done it about a dozen times, and he wasn’t exactly being subtle about it.</p><p>            Harley scrolled to the next firework stand.</p><p>            Side-eye.</p><p>            Scroll.</p><p>            Side-eye.</p><p>            Scroll.</p><p>            Side-eye.</p><p>            Seriously, was Tony even looking at the road? Harley stopped scrolling abruptly and looked at Tony.</p><p>            “You’re gonna wreck the car if you keep doing that,” Harley stated, matter-of-factly. Tony kept his eyes on the road when he responded.</p><p>            “What do you mean?”</p><p>            Harley laughed out loud and went back to scrolling. As if Tony didn’t know what he was talking about…</p><p>            Tony sighed and gripped the steering wheel just a tiny bit tighter.</p><p>            “So, uh. I heard you and your mom have been having some disagreements about school,” Tony said, in a painfully casual tone. Harley ran a hand through his hair. Great. That’s what this was about. His mom had put Tony up to talking to him about school.</p><p>            “Nope, we’re peachy keen, we agree on virtually everything almost all the time,” Harley said, tone laced with trace amounts of sarcasm.</p><p>            “Harley…”</p><p>            “Okay, fine. Like, 97.999 percent of the time,” Harley amended. Tony looked away from the road for a moment.</p><p>            “Come on kid, I’m not attacking you, I’m just wondering what your side of the story is, okay? You want to take the GED?” Tony asked. Harley shook his head and kept scrolling. He didn’t want to have this conversation, he didn’t. Harley didn’t have the time for his school bullshit, there were so many other balls he had to keep from dropping, that he didn’t even have time to try to get Tony on his side. Especially because his mom had put Tony up to it.</p><p>            “Tony, I literally have no desire to have this conversation, okay? It’s pretty much irrelevant what I want at the moment, so let’s just not worry about it,”</p><p>            “Harley it’s no—”</p><p>            “Tony, I’m good. It’s the fourth of July, let’s just go get some fireworks and forget about it. I don’t want to talk about getting my GED, or why it’s a bad idea, or my mom and me or anything,” Harley interrupted. Tony sighed loudly.</p><p>            “Kid, I’m not trying to tell you—”</p><p>            “You just passed the firework stand, you have to make a U-turn,”</p><p>            Tony shook his head and pulled to the right so he could start making his U-turn.</p><p>            “You can’t keep bottling it up—” Harley started to interrupt for the third time, but a menacing glare from Tony shut him up, at least for long enough for Tony to finish his sentence. “You can’t keep ignoring your issues like I do. It’s all going to blow up at some point, and that isn’t a pretty scene, trust me. You shouldn’t let that happen, okay? I’m trying to help, Harley, and I know you’re pissed, and you’re confused and people trying to tell you what to think isn’t helpful, but the fact is, you need to understand that you don’t have to deal with this on your own.” Tony pulled into the stands parking lot and put the car into park. Tony looked at Harley and it looked like he hadn’t even been listening. Harley licked his lips.</p><p>            “Well, we’re here, let’s go get some fireworks,” Harley pulled his door handle, but it wouldn’t open. Harley shook his head and looked at Tony, who had his finger on the automatic lock button on the inside of his door.</p><p>            “Did you hear what I just said?”</p><p>            Harley looked back at Tony and just stared.</p><p>            “I can tell you again if you need me to,”</p><p>            “I heard. Now can we go? We don’t have all day,” Harley shot back in a monotone voice.</p><p>            “We’ve got pretty much all day,” Tony responded, levelly.</p><p>            “I’m happy to inform you that I do not bottle anything up, so it’s impossible for me to have a mental break, for any reason. I’m good. Super, even. You may have all day, but I don’t, so can we go?” Harley said. Tony shook his head.</p><p>            “Why won’t you talk to me about this?”</p><p>            What Harley wanted to say was: “Oh gee, I don’t know. Maybe because I don’t want you to tell me that my mom is right and that I should listen to her. You are the one that got roped into talking to me since I won’t talk to my mom about it, so, you add it up.”</p><p>            But he didn’t. Instead, he took a deep breath and mustered up a small smile.</p><p>“Because I don’t have anything to talk about. I’m good. I will take your deep words of wisdom into account. Now can you please put on that nasty beard and unlock the door so we can buy some fireworks? I’ve got like four other places lined up after this one,”</p><p>Tony sighed.</p><p>“Fine, I can’t make you talk to me about it.” Tony made eye contact with Harley. “I just…I’m on your side Harley, I’m not trying to attack you. I just want you to do what’s best for you, okay?”</p><p>Harley almost choked. Senior year was <em>not</em> what was best for him, but he pushed it aside.</p><p>“Yeah, I know. Now if we could go get some fireworks, that would be excellent,”</p><p>Tony shook his head again and unlocked the car.</p><p>Harley opened the car door and got out.</p><hr/><p>            Peter leaned his head on his hand as he sat in one of the wicker chairs on the back porch of the yellow beach house. He was somehow both tremendously calm and tremendously tense at once. Right now, with the ocean right in front of him, quietly lapping at the shore, and a tetchy Jules to his right, scrolling through her phone, everything felt alright. Tranquil even.</p><p>Underneath that tranquility, unease made its home. This unease, this wretched tensity, did not stem solely from Alexa, but now from the burden of playing it cool around May. May knew Peter better than anyone and she was onto the fact that something was wrong. When May had volunteered Peter and herself to clean up, she had an ulterior motive and had spent the half-hour that they spent cleaning, grilling him on Alexa, and Tony, and the summer in general.</p><p>Obviously, Peter spent the whole time dodging those questions, probably making May more suspicious, but at least Peter hadn’t blown his cover. Peter didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up.</p><p>He had to get this taken care of…</p><p>Peter heard footsteps in the house, and he turned his head slightly to see if he could see whoever it was through the glass door.</p><p> It was Harley, and he was struggling to open the door with an armful of fireworks. He had a psychotic expression of pure, unadulterated joy on his face, but he could not for the life of him grip the handle to pull the door open. Peter jumped up to open the door for the psycho with the explosives. As soon as Peter pulled the sliding door open, Harley gave Peter a demented smile.  </p><p>“This isn’t even half of what we got. We got fountains, roman candles, firecrackers, all of it. We went to like five places, it was amazing,” Harley rambled out. His arms were overflowing with all different kinds of fireworks. It was amazing he hadn’t dropped half of them.</p><p>“Aren’t some of those illegal?” Peter asked. Harley gave Peter a huge smile.</p><p>“Not in South Carolina,” Harley said in a sing-song voice.</p><p>            At this point, Jules looked up from her chair and shot the two boys a skeptical look.</p><p>            “What’d you and Tony do, buy the whole store up?” Jules asked.</p><p>            “Almost, we left the locals a few mortars, but we bought the rest,”</p><p>            Was it bad that Peter couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not? Apparently, Jules couldn’t tell either because she raised her eyebrows skeptically at Harley. Harley rolled his eyes in return.</p><p>            “I’m kidding, ok? Kidding.” Harley turned around and plopped his armful of fireworks into the chair that Peter recently vacated. He put his hands on his hips and inspected his haul. Then he reached into the pile, rustled around a bit, and pulled out a handful of firecrackers.</p><p>            “Let’s light these suckers,” Harley said excitedly. Sounded good to Peter. He reached out his hand for Harley to give him one. Jules cocked her head at the boys.</p><p>            “Are you sure you’re not a pyromaniac?” Jules asked Harley. Harley cocked his head and looked at Jules thoughtfully.</p><p>            “You know…I don’t think I ever said I wasn’t, to be honest, in fact, it’s very possible I am,” Harley said, still holding the fireworks. There was a brief silence.</p><p>            “Eh, oh well, my therapist can deal with that later, you gonna light these with us or what?” Harley asked. Jules sighed heavily.</p><p>            “You don’t have a therapist,”</p><p>            “Maybe I should have one,” Harley retorted. Peter snorted at that.</p><p>            “Shouldn’t we all,” Peter muttered quietly, “Give me one of those, will you?”</p><p>            Harley broke eye contact with Jules and handed Peter two firecrackers and started walking backwards towards the porch steps.</p><p>            “Sooo, are you in, or are you out <em>Julie</em>,” Harley asked, giving Jules a mischievous smile. Jules jumped up from her seat.</p><p>            “That’s not my name!” Jules grabbed one of the seat cushions from her chair and chucked it at Harley as hard as she could. Harley ducked, and the cushion just missed his face. Peter laughed. Jules turned around and stared him down.</p><p>Harley shouted back, “Peter, run for your life, she’s on a rampage!” Just after his warning to Peter, Harley started running in the opposite direction. Jules was still staring Peter down.</p><p>“Um, firecracker?” Peter asked, offering Jules one of the firecrackers in his hand. Jules rolled her eyes and grabbed one of the firecrackers. Peter and Jules started jogging over to where Harley was planting his firework in the sand. Harley looked up and waved at them.</p><p>“Hey, I don’t have matches or a lighter, can you go grab one?” Harley called.</p><p>            “You don’t have a lighter?” Jules asked in disbelief.</p><p>            “No, do I look like a smoker?” Harley patted his pockets and threw his empty hands in front of him.</p><p>            “I’ll grab one, one sec,” Peter called and started running back to the house.</p><hr/><p>            Tony lit a huge fountain firework and bolted away from it, heading towards the rest of the family. The firework started to sputter as it began its routine. The sun had finally gone down at around 8:30, and no later than 8:45, they had all run out back to set off the big fireworks. Even though Harley, Jules, and Peter had been setting off small fireworks sporadically throughout the day, they still had huge piles of the things. Tony finally made it back to the group and spun around to see the show just as it started to pour out sparks. Tony threw an arm around Pepper and put a hand on Morgan’s shoulder. Morgan jumped up and down excitedly.</p><p>            “Oooh I think this is one of the ones that whistle, Tony,” Harley said in awe. Tony looked at Harley wearily.</p><p>            “I didn’t know we got whistling ones,” Tony grumbled, as he turned back to the show. Sure enough, not even a full five seconds later, the fountain started giving off ear-splitting shrieks as the sparks started streaming out faster. Morgan and Tony covered their ears, followed by the rest of them, minus Harley, who was cackling like a maniac.   </p><p>            Tony shook his head and continued to watch as the firework started to quiet and spew out fewer sparks.</p><p>            It had been, for the most part, a good day. Peter’s and Tony’s conversation seemed to clear the air quite a bit, but Peter still seemed reserved. It had been a good afternoon, they had barbecue for dinner, and it had just been a quiet, relaxing day.</p><p>            Except for the fact that now Harley was dodging him, which was beyond frustrating. This could not be good for the kid…</p><p>            Maybe Tony could come up with a plan…</p><p>            Tony was drug from his thoughts by Peter’s voice, and he realized the firework had gone dark.</p><p>            “Okay, sooo, let’s just. Not do the whistling ones anymore,” Peter stated. There was a chorus of agreement. Harley looked from person to person and scoffed.</p><p>            “Y’all are no fun.” Harley shook his head. Peter coughed.</p><p>            “Your southern is showing,” Peter teased.</p><p>            Harley punched Peter in the shoulder. Peter frowned.</p><p>            “Ow, that hurt,” Peter said blandly.</p><p>            “That comment hurt,”</p><p>            Morgan interrupted their bickering.</p><p>            “Can we set off another one?”</p><p>            Harley grinned at the five-year-old, his teeth glinting in the dim porch light.</p><p>            “Sure, I’ll set the next one off,” Harley said with glee. Tony sighed.</p><p>            “Do me a favor and don’t blow your hand off, okay?”</p><p>            “That would be appreciated,” Helen added.</p><p>            Harley grabbed a firework from the pile and started walking down to where they had set up a makeshift launch pad out of a cutting board and a couple bricks.</p><p>            “You guys have no faith in me, honestly,”</p><p>            Harley jogged the rest of the way to set up the firework.</p><p>            Peter rubbed his ears, which were still ringing slightly from the loud firework. Fourth of July had been better than he had expected it to be with everything hanging over his head. It was just unfortunate that May was acting suspicious of him now. And that he had lied to Tony in their one-on-one the other day. Yeah, he was feeling guilty. Peter had been lying a lot lately.</p><p>            Harley lit the fuse and came running back. It looked like Harley had chosen another fountain, hopefully not a super loud one like the previous firework. He skidded to a stop right next to Peter and turned around to watch the firework start popping crazily with red and blue sparks. The blue sparks were a light kind of blue, not like the bright blue most fireworks were. Light blue like. Well. Kind of like a meth-crystal blue.</p><p>            Peter shook his head. <em>That’s when you know you’ve lost it. </em>Peter thought. Just after that thought, another thought came trickling into his mind.</p><p>And honestly, that thought was the most promising one he’d had all weekend.</p><p>He leaned over to Harley, not even looking away from the crackling fountain.</p><p>            “I have a plan.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, well, well. I do wonder what Peter's got up his sleeve. ;)<br/>As always, Thank you all very much for your comments and kudos, it means a lot! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see ya next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hiya! I hope your New Year is going well so far! Sorry I didn't post last month, it was pretty hectic! I do have an extra-long chapter for you though, so I hope you enjoy! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you out of your mind?” Harley whisper-shouted at Peter. Peter had opted to not tell Harley his plan the previous night, due to both the proximity of their families, as well as the high spirits of the evening. Peter assured Harley his plan was worth the wait.</p><p>Which is why Peter now found himself being yelled at by Harley in the driveway of the yellow house. The sun hadn’t even decided to grace the world with its glory yet. In fact, it was possible the sun wouldn’t even make an appearance since the sky was spitefully spitting cold rain onto their heads. Peter pulled his jacket tighter around him.</p><p>“Could you try to be a little bit quieter? The idea is to <em>not </em>wake everyone in the house up,” Peter said irritably.</p><p>“I’m being quiet!” Harley shouted, a little louder this time, pulling his own jacket closer to him.</p><p> Peter made a shushing gesture at Harley, and he lowered his voice slightly.</p><p>“Peter, that has got to be the worst plan of them all, this is a terrible idea. Pineapple on pizza level terrible idea,” Harley said seriously. Peter decided to forgo defending pineapple on pizza in favor of staying on topic.</p><p>“This is the only one that makes sense.” Peter countered. “Talking to Alexa isn’t going to work, but if I get to Phil, I can—”</p><p>“You could get shot, or worse. Have you not seen a single crime show? You literally talk to criminals as a part-time job, how can you not see why this is a bad idea?” Harley’s voice became increasingly frantic as he spoke.</p><p>Peter took a deep breath.</p><p>“Can you just shut up and listen to me for two minutes? Please?” Peter asked patiently. Harley crossed his arms and set his jaw, allowing Peter time to speak. Peter dropped his arms to his side, the fabric of his jacket relaxing along with his arms.</p><p>“I know there are risks. Like you said, I deal with criminals periodically. I’m not saying that it isn’t dangerous. I’m saying that it’s the most viable option. I’m not getting anywhere with Alexa, but who knows with Phil? I don’t know how involved he is with the drugs, is he the instigator, or is Alexa? There’s too many unknowns right now, we need more information, and this is the best way of getting it,”</p><p>Harley ran his hand through his damp hair.</p><p>“And this is how you’re going to do it? You’re just going to walk straight into his house and ask him? That’s idiotic, and you know it. Why are you doing this? Just to prove to yourself that you can?” Harley asked. His voice was a mixture of anger, concern, and agitation. “I don’t get why you think you need to do this.”</p><p>Peter looked into Harley’s clear blue eyes and considered Harley’s words. Was Peter being an idiot? It wouldn’t be the first time.</p><p>But…</p><p>This meant too much to Peter for him to step back or give up. Peter wasn’t exactly sure when his anxiety was replaced by resolve. When his worries were replaced with determination.</p><p>No, that wasn’t right. If his anxiety was replaced, why was his chest so tight? If he wasn’t worried anymore, why did Peter’s worries about something going wrong threaten to envelop him? His worries and anxiety weren’t replaced. He was still terrified. The determination and resolve had somehow just settled in along with his fear, like dust among books.</p><p>            So, maybe Harley was right, maybe Peter wanted to prove he could do this for himself. To prove that his life hadn’t changed <em>that</em> much. So, what if he did? Peter had felt so suffocated and out of place all summer. Catching bad guys was one of the only things from before the blip that hadn’t changed. It was something Peter knew how to do. That hadn’t changed. Maybe once he proved to himself he could still do it; things would get better. Just because he had talked to Tony didn’t mean that everything was solved, that wasn’t how it worked. Peter’s biggest demons were in his own head, not between him and Tony.</p><p><em>It’s all in my head…</em>Peter thought.</p><p>So why couldn’t he prove this <em>one thing </em>to himself? What was wrong with that? If anything, Harley’s barrage of irritated questions hardened Peter’s resolve. When he next spoke, his voice was calm and steady. It held the assurance and confidence of someone who was much older and more experienced.</p><p>“Harley, I won’t deny that a part of me has something to prove. I won’t deny it because I’d be lying.” Harley shook his head and looked away from Peter. Peter continued. “But just because I have something to prove, doesn’t mean I’m going to be an idiot about this. I know there’s risks. I know that walking into his house isn’t necessarily the best idea, especially because I’m Peter Parker in this situation, but this is the logical next step,” Peter finished. Harley started to speak, but Peter beat him to it.</p><p>“Don’t tell me that I don’t need to prove anything, okay? That’s not the only reason I’m doing this. I’m Spider-Man, right? My part-time job? This is my job. So let me do it,”</p><p>Harley ran his hand through his hair again. He looked at Peter’s face, Peter’s face that was painted in the colors of confidence, and despite himself, he felt his skepticism begin to crumble. Harley sighed and rubbed his hands across his face.</p><p>“Take me through your plan one more time,” Harley said, in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Peter nodded.</p><p>“I’m going to show up at Phil’s house and hopefully catch him by surprise. I’m going to go the same time of day when I used to…drop off the…the…” Peter swallowed thickly. “the drugs, so, hopefully, he’ll be home. Once I’m there, I’m going to talk some information out of him. See how involved he is, what his role is, how much he knows. Alexa calls him her ‘uncle’, but I don’t know if that’s just her cover.” Peter wiped some rain off his face. It was starting to come down a little harder now, and Peter was soon to be soaked.</p><p>            “What are you going to do with all that info? She gave you a week, that’s not exactly enough time to profile the guy and then go from there,” Harley said. Peter nodded.</p><p>            “Yeah, but hopefully if I catch him off guard he’ll let some things slip, maybe a confession. You would be amazed at how talkative criminals are. Then we’ll have info on them, and we can proceed from there. If I do this Monday, that gives us, like, four days to figure out a more solid plan, and we’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with and how big of an operation this is,” Peter said, wiping more rain off his face. Harley stared at Peter, leaving the rain on his own face alone.</p><p>            “That gives us three days, not four.”</p><p>            Peter contemplated.</p><p>            “I’ve always worked best under pressure.”</p><p>            “You’re a dumbass.”</p><p>            “So I’ve been told.”</p><p>            Harley frowned deeply.</p><p>            “Peter, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, are you sure we can’t tell Tony? If you say no, I guess I’ll drop it, but just…” Harley paused and looked at Peter, and just by his expression, Harley knew he was fighting a losing battle. “Okay. I’ll drop it,” Harley said, against his better judgment. Harley understood having something to prove to yourself. That was partly why he wanted to take the GED. Just to prove he could.</p><p>            Granted, failing the GED rarely resulted in bodily harm and or death, but Harley had to remind himself that Peter (supposedly) knew what he was doing. And if Harley were helping, he could keep Peter from being too much of an idiot, in Tony’s stead. Harley had just about convinced himself that Peter’s idea was a decent semblance of a plan when both boys were scared half to death by a muffled shout coming from the direction of the house.   </p><p>            Harley’s head snapped around to see who it was, and Peter quickly focused his eyes on the house.</p><p>            It was Jules, and she looked very confused at why Peter and Harley were standing out in the rain, so early in the morning.</p><p>            Peter looked at Harley as if <em>he </em>had a cover story. Harley’s mind was blank, and all he could do was shrug. The boys looked back at the porch. Jules was still standing there, and she didn’t seem like she had any intention of moving from her sheltered spot on the porch. Thankfully, the loud patter of the rain would have muffled any sound that Jules might have heard, so they were safe on that front. Peter decided to just start walking towards the house and hope some amazing excuse occurred to him along the way. Harley followed closely behind him.</p><p>            Jules was still in her pajama bottoms and she wore an oversized sweatshirt with a dental practice’s logo on the front. Despite having a warm sweater on, Jules hugged herself and looked like she was shivering even more than the sopping wet boys approaching her.</p><p>            “You re-enacting The Notebook or something? It’s freezing and you’re both soaked,” Jules stated, distastefully. Harley and Peter just shrugged ambiguously. Jules raised an eyebrow.</p><p>            “No seriously, what are you guys doing?” She asked. Harley cleared his throat.</p><p>            “Oh, you know, just taking in the fresh air, seeing the sights. What are you doing up before eleven A.M.?” Harley countered in a sarcastic tone. Jules looked at Harley, utterly unimpressed. She then looked at Peter and stared into his eyes suspiciously. Peter gave her an awkward half-smile. There were a few seconds of silence before Jules just turned back towards the door and called over her shoulder:</p><p>            “Y’all are acting <em>real</em> sketchy. Hope you don’t catch pneumonia and die.” With that, she went back inside, leaving the door open behind her for the two boys. Harley ran a hand through his hair and Peter let out a very quiet breath. Then, following Jules, they went inside to get dried off.</p><hr/><p>            “Hey, Harley.”</p><p>            Harley woke up to Jules’s voice coming from his left side. He cracked one of his eyes open and rolled over onto his side to see her crouching next to the couch. Peter and Harley had given up their beds for Jules and Helen, and they had been bunking in the living room for the weekend.</p><p>            Harley yawned.</p><p>            “Hey, what time is it?” Harley asked propping himself up on his elbow to look at Jules.</p><p>            “Early. Mom and I have to leave for the airport in a little bit. I just wanted to…” Jules trailed off. Harley wasn’t sure if it was her crooked eyeliner that made her appear worried, or if there was actually something bothering her. Harley rubbed his eyes.</p><p>            “What’s up? You good?” Harley asked in a quiet voice.</p><p>            Jules bit her lip and stared at Harley.</p><p>            “Look, I know you and Peter have something going on,” She whispered. Harley's heart started palpitating.</p><p>            “What—”</p><p>            “I don’t know what, but I’m not an idiot. You two have been acting weird all weekend. I won’t bother asking what, because I know you won’t tell me, but…” Jules took a deep breath. “Just, try not to be too much of an idiot, kay? Peter too.”</p><p>            Harley wasn’t really sure what to say, so, he didn’t say anything. Jules pushed forward, unphased.</p><p>            “You know what my number is if you guys need me, just saying,” Jules finished, going to stand up. Harley sat up, his blanket slipping off the couch.</p><p>            “Hey.”</p><p>            Jules looked at Harley again.</p><p>            “Thanks.”</p><p>            Jules nodded.</p><p>            “Sure. Can’t have you doing something stupid after just getting you guys back, you know?” Jules tried to inject her voice with a more cheerful, sarcastic tone, and it kind of worked. Harley nodded and gave Jules a weak smile.</p><p>            The siblings were interrupted by the clunking of luggage on the stairs. Harley looked towards the steps and saw his mom and May coming down the stairs, closely followed by Tony and Pepper. Harley looked towards where Peter was crashed on the floor. Peter looked dead to the world. Harley grabbed the pillow that his head had previously occupied and gently threw it (read: hurled it at the speed of light) at Peter. Peter shot up and looked from side to side, trying to locate the threat.</p><p>            “Over here,” Harley said. Peter made eye contact and automatically looked ready to murder Harley. Harley grinned and pointed toward the stairs. “What? They’re leaving.”</p><p>            Peter looked up at the group of people on the other side of the room and just shook his head and grumbled something to himself.</p><p>Jules shook her head.</p><p>“See’ya Harley,” She held out her fist for a fist bump, and the two knocked fists. She nodded at Peter.</p><p>“Bye Peter,”</p><p>Peter waved and stood up.</p><p>The rest of the group said goodbye at the door. May told Peter to stay out of trouble which both Harley and Peter found ironic, and Helen couldn’t help but remind Harley about her plans for his fall semester. Harley only dignified it with an eye-roll and just told her he would see her in a few weeks at the party. When they had all said their goodbyes, Tony left to drive them to the airport.</p><p>“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going back to sleep for a little while,” Pepper said through a yawn. Pepper turned to go back upstairs and called quietly behind her: “You two even have your own beds back now.”</p><p>Harley and Peter looked at each other. The anticipation of what Peter was going to do today rolled off of them in waves. It was exceedingly clear that neither of them were going back to sleep.</p><p>Harley rubbed his neck.</p><p>“You sure you wanna do this?” Harley asked quietly. Even if Pepper had been listening she wouldn’t have heard him.</p><p>Peter’s body language looked calm, but his eyes had a raging storm behind them. Peter took a shaky breath.</p><p>“Yeah…Yeah, I’m sure,”</p><p>Harley nodded solemnly at Peter.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>Peter and Harley sat down on the couch and turned the TV on to some random channel playing an unfamiliar, dimly lit movie that had the worst acting Harley had seen in a while, but they let it play, just so it would take their minds off things.</p><p>There was nothing they could do but wait for Tony to get back with the car. Nothing to do but wait for the usual time to roll around. For now, controlling their nerves and waiting was their only option.</p><hr/><p>            Tony had gotten back at around 7 ‘o’clock, but that was still too early for Peter to head to Phil’s, so Peter ended up waiting till about 10 ‘o’clock. When 10 rolled around, Peter’s hands were sweating and shaking, and he was so nauseous, that he thought he was going to throw up. But he clenched his jaw and refused to chicken out. He came downstairs from changing his clothes, and he walked over to where Tony was sitting on the couch. Harley gave him a worried look from where he was sitting in one of the brown easy chairs but quickly looked back at his phone.</p><p>            “Hey, Tony, I was wondering if I could borrow your car for a little bit today,” Peter said, casually. He picked a frayed thread on the couch, making minimal eye contact with Tony. If he made eye contact, Tony would probably be able to tell how nervous he was, which was definitely what he wanted to avoid.</p><p>            Tony looked up at Peter, appraisingly.</p><p>            “Sure, what are you going to do? Another snack run?” Tony asked in a lighthearted tone. It seemed Peter’s strategy was working.</p><p>            “Um no, I’m going to hang out with Alexa for a little while, and we needed a car to go to this one beach,” Peter lied and ignored his guilty conscience. Peter masked his nerves as best he could, and finally made eye contact with Tony. Tony just nodded and smiled at Peter, making Peter feel like a complete jerk for lying to him.</p><p>            “Okay, that’s fine. Keys are on the kitchen table. When are you going to be back?” Tony asked. Peter swallowed.</p><p>            “I’m not sure,” Peter replied. He honestly wasn’t sure how long this was going to take.</p><p>            “Gimme a ball-park estimation,”</p><p>            “Um, sometime this afternoon?” Peter responded weakly. Tony just sighed.</p><p>            “Okay. Have a good time,”</p><p>            Peter nodded, despite the fact he definitely wouldn’t have a good time. He turned to walk to the kitchen.</p><p>            “Thanks, Tony,” Peter said.</p><p>            “No problem, kid,” Tony called.</p><p>            Peter grabbed the keys from the kitchen table, shouted a goodbye, and walked through the front door towards the uncertainty that went by the name Phil.</p><hr/><p>             Peter was unusually calm on the drive over to Phil’s house, and somehow, rather than reassuring Peter, it just unsettled him. He should have been freaking out, right? Should have been a nervous wreck, but instead, he was just calmly driving towards what could be his doom.</p><p>            Peter need not have worried about his lack of nerves though, because as soon as he arrived at Phil’s run-down blue house, they hit him like a tidal wave. His hands went slick with sweat, and the tight feeling in his chest that he was becoming very familiar with hit him full force.</p><p>            He took a deep breath and clenched his fists around the steering wheel. He could do this. After a couple of seconds of mental preparation, he let go of the steering wheel and unbuckled his seatbelt. This was going to be as simple as a five-step process, Peter told himself.</p><p>            Step 1: Get out of the car.</p><p>            Step 2: Walk to the door.</p><p>            Step 3: Knock on the door and surprise Phil.</p><p>            Step 4: Get information on Phil.</p><p>            Step 5: Go back to the car and leave.</p><p>            See? Simple. Peter told himself. He took one more deep breath and opened the car door and stepped onto the gravel driveway. The sound and smell of the ocean filtered through his senses. He hadn’t realized how close the ocean was to Phil’s house before. He let it relax him slightly. Step one: complete.</p><p>            Peter closed the door quietly behind him. He took his first step towards the house, the crunch of the gravel overpowering the sound of the ocean. The pointy stones under his converse covered feet shifted uncomfortably as he walked towards the steps. He reached the stairs and climbed the three steps briskly. Before he was ready for it, he was in front of the door. Peter swallowed thickly. That was step two. Time for step three.</p><p>            Peter raised his fist to the door, and before he could talk himself out of it, he rapped his knuckles on the door. Bits of flaky paint floated off the door and down towards the porch. He waited. One second. Five seconds. Twenty seconds passed. Peter hoped Phil wasn’t out. Peter wasn’t sure that he could convince himself to do this a second time if Phil wasn’t at home. Peter was only kept in suspense for a few moments longer, because at the thirty-five-second mark, the doorknob turned, and the door opened to reveal Phil, who, to Peter’s satisfaction, looked rather surprised to see him. Peter mentally checked off step three. His mental list was the only thing keeping him focused.</p><p>            Phil managed to mask his shock and opened the door a little wider.</p><p>            “Well, well, well, looks like Alexa was right. Here you are before your week is up.” Phil scratched his stubbly chin. “Smart kid,” Phil said condescendingly. He held out his hand as if he was expecting Peter to hand him something.</p><p>            Peter tried to muster any kind of confidence hidden within himself to answer.</p><p>            “I’m not here to do a delivery,” Peter said, ice coating his voice like ice on a car windshield after a cold night. Peter’s expression was stony, and he stood as straight as he could. Phil raised his eyebrows and shifted his feet. If Peter wasn’t mistaken, Phil seemed…nervous.</p><p>            Good.</p><p>            Phil cleared his throat and leaned towards Peter.</p><p>            “If you’re not here for a delivery, then why exactly are you here, kid? I don’t like social calls.” Malice dripped from Phil’s voice. His eyes were cold and sharp, and they drilled into Peter. His voice and eyes did not match his body language. Peter refrained from stepping back, as much as he wanted to. That would show weakness, and that would give Phil the advantage. He planted his feet firmly and looked directly into Phil’s eyes.</p><p>            “You don’t like social calls? I don’t like threats.”</p><p>            Phil smirked, which was a horrible thing to look at. He took a step towards Peter and away from the door, the floorboards beneath his feet creaking in protest.</p><p>            “Well, then we’re both uncomfortable, aren’t we?” He took another step, and Peter locked his knees to keep himself from moving. “I’m antisocial. I do my job, and I stay away from people. I’m not good at socializing. But do you know what I’m really good at, Peter?” Another step. Phil loomed over Peter now, inches away from him. Peter stood his ground, but he didn’t know how much longer he could.</p><p>            “I’m very, very good at making threats. And I follow through on my threats, kid,”</p><p>            Peter’s hands started to shake at his sides, and through his growing panic, he noticed Phil’s hands shaking slightly as well. Phil didn’t do this very often. As much as Peter wanted this observation to comfort him, it didn’t. Whether Phil was nervous or not, he easily had six inches and a hundred pounds on Peter. And somehow, Peter didn’t get the feeling he was bluffing. A couple seconds passed, and Peter couldn’t get his mouth to work to form words, so he just stood there, dumbly. Phil smiled and took a small step back.</p><p>            Peter closed his eyes for a moment and tried to get his nerves under control.</p><p>            “Was it your idea? The drugs?” Peter tried to recover and get back on track with his plan, but a bark of laughter from Phil and his screaming spidey-sense threw him off again.</p><p>            “I don’t see how that’s any of your damn business, kid,” Phil said, crossing his arms and staring Peter down. Peter caved and took a step back, which was the beginning of the end. Phil didn’t move, but looked Peter up and down, obviously taking note of the weakness. He smiled, a sick, menacing smile.</p><p>            “I don’t know, what you’re trying to play at, kid, but I’m not some schoolyard bully that you can trick into letting you off the hook. If you were smart, you would have just gone back to Alexa and done the deliveries, no questions asked. But no. You show up here, acting like you own the place.” Somewhere mid-rant, Phil’s menacing smile turned into a glare.</p><p>            Peter clenched his fists and for some reason, he was frozen. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak. All he could do was stand.</p><p>            “Leave.”</p><p>            One word. One word filled with so much venom and hatred. Peter turned around and practically ran to his car. He had to leave. He felt paralyzed with fear, and for some reason, he couldn’t get ahold of himself, so leaving was the only option. As he bolted towards the car, he didn’t notice Phil going back into his house.</p><p>            Phil closed the door behind him and peered out his window at Peter’s car. Phil pulled out his phone and pressed a button on his call menu. Just before Peter peeled out of the driveway, a voice on the other line answered. Phil spoke into his phone.</p><p>            “Hey Quinn, I need you to run a plate for me, it’s QTC-4937.”</p><hr/><p>Tony watched Harley and Morgan play some card game while he dried a plate. He had been thinking about Helen and Harley’s ongoing dispute about school for the majority of the day, and Tony honestly wasn’t sure what to do about it. While he could see Helen’s point of view, he didn’t really agree with it. Harley had been gone for five years, and all of his friends were five years ahead, along with Jules. Tony could understand why Harley was feeling restless.</p><p>Helen on the other hand; she had to live five years without Harley. Tony could understand why she would want to see him graduate, she, like practically everyone else, was just looking for a little normalcy.</p><p>Unfortunately, making Harley stay in Rosehill for senior year would be selfish on her part. Essentially, that would put him behind another year, which Tony was sure Harley was painfully aware of.</p><p>But what was there to do? Helen was dead set on him completing his senior year. Tony wondered if she knew how miserable that would make him. The GED seemed like the best solution, but if Tony couldn’t convince Helen of that, well, then…she definitely wouldn’t go for the rest of Tony’s plan.</p><p>Tony’s musings were interrupted by Peppers voice from the kitchen table.</p><p>“Don’t you think that plate is dry enough?” She asked, smirking. Tony’s eyebrows creased like he didn’t fully understand. Pepper shrugged at Tony’s confused expression.</p><p>“Hey, I could be wrong, but you have been drying it for ten minutes.”</p><p>Tony looked down at the bone-dry plate in his hands, and the penny finally dropped.</p><p>“Oh,” Tony said weakly. Pepper broke into a fit of laughter.</p><p>Just then, the front door opened to reveal Peter, looking a little frazzled, but Peter looked frazzled a lot of the time, so Tony didn’t let it worry him too much.</p><p>            “Hey, kid, you alright? Have a good time?” Tony asked. Peter snapped his head in Tony’s direction and ran a hand through his hair.</p><p>            “What? Oh, yeah, um, a great time. Here’s the keys by the way.” Peter tossed the keys in Tony’s direction, and Tony just managed to catch them with the hand that wasn’t holding the plate. Tony raised an eyebrow. Peter shot Tony a thumbs up, and Tony chuckled. Peter looked at Harley who had locked eyes on him the moment he walked in.</p><p>            “Uh, Harley, can I, uh, talk to you for a sec?” Peter stammered.</p><p>            “Sure,” Harley replied, looking effortlessly casual. “Sorry Mo, we’ll finish later, kay?”</p><p>            “Awww,” Morgan said, looking a little put upon. Harley stood up, ruffled her hair to her great frustration, and then he and Peter took off upstairs.</p><p>            Huh. What weirdos. Tony sent up a silent prayer that they weren’t doing anything crazy that he should know about and went back to his thoughts.</p><hr/><p>“So? What happened?” Harley asked the moment their bedroom door was closed.</p><p>Peter looked like he was about to pull his own hair out, and he was pacing back and forth between the beds, which was stressing Harley out.</p><p>“I completely froze. I found out practically nothing, other than the fact that Phil is a lot more intimidating than I had expected,” Peter said in a quiet voice. Harley stared at Peter and he couldn’t help but make a sarcastic comment.</p><p>“I thought that I would <em>‘be amazed at how talkative criminals are’</em>?” Harley commented. Peter stopped pacing and looked deadpan at Harley.</p><p>“Apparently Peter Parker doesn’t have the same effect as Spider-Man,” Peter said blandly, obviously catching Harley’s sarcasm. “Can we get back on topic please?” Peter asked. Harley held up his hands in surrender.</p><p>“Right, sorry,”</p><p>“I think he’s the instigator, but that’s just speculation…” Peter paced some more. “Ugh, I wish I weren’t such a freaking coward. If I could have stayed a little longer, maybe I could have gotten something, anything.” Peter sat down heavily on his bed and held his head in his hands. He looked distraught.</p><p>“Hey, dude. Feeling sorry for yourself isn’t very useful. You did what you could, we gotta come up with plan B now,” Harley said. Peter didn’t move. Harley cocked his head a little.</p><p>“Peter, if you had to leave it’s fine, alright? It’s not like you’re a failure or something cuz’ you couldn’t get him to talk. I was joking before; I probably would have left too.” Harley attempted to make Peter feel better. Peter tilted his head up and looked through his fingers at Harley.</p><p>“I was…I was <em>scared</em>,” Peter said in a whisper, sounding absolutely horrified at himself. Harley rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Well, no shit, Peter. You’d be more of a dumbass than you already are if you weren’t scared,” Harley said lightheartedly. Peter grabbed his pillow and chucked it at Harley. It hit him head-on.</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“You’re a jerk.”</p><p>Harley shrugged.</p><p>“Point is, plan A didn’t work. On to plan B, no harm no foul. You’re good.”</p><p>“Yeah, except we don’t have a plan B.”</p><p>“We didn’t have a plan A until like, twelve hours ago,” Harley pointed out. Peter put a hand over his face.</p><p>“Plan A would have worked if—”</p><p>“Okay, but it didn’t, so let’s skip over the what if’s and start brainstorming,” Harley said. Peter sighed.</p><p>Harley threw Peter’s pillow back at him, and Peter let it hit him.</p><p>“Hey, it’s fine,” Harley said. Peter laid back on his bed.</p><p>“Not really…” Peter whispered to himself, too quietly for even Harley to hear.</p><hr/><p>“Shit,” Phil muttered to himself. “What the hell does that mean, Quinn?”</p><p>A young woman’s voice responded through the phone.</p><p>“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like this before. All the record says when I try to access it, is that it’s classified. It’s also got a firewall twenty feet thick, so don’t even ask me to hack it, I still need this DMV job,” Quinn said. Phil covered his mouth with his hand and stared at his blank wall.</p><p>“What kind of a person has classified registration?” Phil asked, in awe. The woman, Quinn, sighed through the phone.</p><p>“I have no idea. Big people. High up people. I mean, it is a New York plate, there are lots of those types there. Whoever it is, they’re probably not the sort you want to mess with,” Quinn said. Phil shook his head and bit his lip.</p><p>“Okay…Thanks Quinn, I owe you one,”</p><p>“You owe me more than one, you’re gonna get me fired one of these days.”</p><p>“Thanks anyway. Talk to you later,”</p><p>“Much later, please,” Quinn said.</p><p>“You act like you don’t like talking to your own cousin,” Phil responded.</p><p>“I don’t.” With that, Quinn ended the call.</p><p>Phil sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. What did this mean? Who was this kid? Why did he show up earlier? Was he some kind of inside agent in a drug bust operation? Shit. Phil had to call Alexa.</p><p>Phil collapsed onto his couch and dialed Alexa’s number.</p><p>Her voice filtered through the speaker.</p><p>“Phil? What do you need?” Alexa asked, sounding slightly irritated.</p><p>“Your buddy Peter stopped by,” Phil said. There were a few moments of silence.</p><p>“What did he want, he hasn’t accepted our deal yet, what did he say?” Alexa asked.</p><p>“I think he was trying to scare me or something,” Phil didn’t mention that Peter’s abrupt appearance <em>had</em> scared him a little. “It didn’t work, obviously, but we have another issue.”</p><p>“Like what? Did he blab or something, because if he did, I have to go to th—” Phil interrupted.</p><p>“He drove over here, Alexa, and I decided to run his plates.”</p><p>Alexa, miffed at being cut off, sighed in frustration.</p><p>“So what, you ran some nobodies plates, big deal.”</p><p>Phil shook his head, even though Alexa couldn’t see him.</p><p>“He isn’t a nobody, trust me. I had Quinn run the plate, you know, my cousin?” Phil asked, getting a little off-topic. Alexa sighed again.</p><p>“Yes, Phil, get to the point. How is he not a nobody? He’s just some kid,” Alexa said, seemingly unbothered by Phil’s concern. Phil took a deep breath.</p><p>“The registration came up classified. Classified, Alexa, who has classified registration? The president? FBI?” Phil said. He stood up from the couch and began pacing.</p><p>There was silence on the other line. Phil started fidgeting with a frayed thread on the hem of his shirt. Alexa was rarely speechless, and never for long. Her silence grated on Phil’s nerves.</p><p>“You’re telling me…that this kid drove a car with <em>classified</em> registration to <em>your</em> house?” Alexa said in a terribly quiet voice. Phil didn’t get the chance to respond before Alexa pushed forward.</p><p>“Fine, all deals are off the table. This kid has to go. If we don’t take care of him, our whole operation could be over, hell! Our whole <em>lives </em>could be over. I don’t know who the hell he is, spy, FBI, I don’t care, he needs to go!” Alexa’s voice rose several octaves in her frenzied state.</p><p>Phil started crushing the hem of his shirt in his hand and stopped pacing.</p><p>            “What do you mean he needs to go?” Phil asked quietly. Alexa’s explosive voice burst through the phone.</p><p>            “What do you think it means, idiot? He has to <em>go</em>. We have to…<em>take care of him</em>.”</p><p>            Phil clenched and unclenched his hand around his hem.</p><p>            “Alexa, I ca—can’t, I can’t do that, the prison charges for that, for me, for, for you, we can’t—” Phil stammered. Alexa cut him off.</p><p>            “What, you can’t take care of one little problem that arises? This is the only way. It’s not like you’ll be doing this alone, I’ll be there too. You’ve got a boat, right? We knock him out, drive out to the middle of the ocean, and drop him over the side. It couldn’t be cleaner or simpler.”</p><p>            Phil took a breath. When Alexa laid it out and said it like that…Phil didn’t want to scrub the whole operation and start over. That would be a nightmare. And it was just one kid…</p><p>            Phil wiped the sweat from his hands on his jeans.</p><p>            “O—Okay,” Phil said hesitantly.</p><p>            “Good. I’ll get it set up.”</p><hr/><p>            In the midst of laying on his bed and feeling somewhat sorry for himself, Peter’s phone buzzed on the dresser. He sat up. Harley sat up too.</p><p>            “What, you come up with something?” Harley asked. Peter shook his head.</p><p>            “No, just got a text,”</p><p>            Peter picked up his phone and looked at the text. It was from Alexa.</p><p><strong>Alexa: Hi Peter </strong> <strong>😊</strong> <strong> I heard you stopped at Phil’s today, and I have to say, I’m surprised. However, we do want to offer you a deal. Meet Phil and me at his house tomorrow, 11 am, to discuss. </strong></p><p>“What the hell…” Peter muttered quietly.</p><p>“What?” Harley asked. Peter held up his phone for Harley to read. Harley’s face went blank.</p><p>“First of all, what kind of a sadistic bitch puts an <em>emoji </em>in that text? Second of all, It’s obviously a trap. You know that’s a trap, right?” Harley asked, as Peter dropped his phone back onto the dresser. Peter bit his bottom lip.  </p><p>“I mean, yeah, but it’s…it’s an opening. Maybe I can get something out of them,” Peter offered. Harley didn’t move.</p><p>“That’s a terrible outlook to have,” Harley said. Peter shrugged.</p><p>“What other choice is there? We’re trying to come up with plan B? Well, I think plan B just presented itself.”</p><p>Harley shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. This was worse than the first plan. Harley didn’t speak for a couple seconds.</p><p>“Fine. But, if you go alone, it’s two on one. So, I’m coming with you,” Harley said with finality. Peter started to shake his head, but Harley spoke again.</p><p>“Either I come, or I tell Tony, cuz this is definitely a trap, and you are not going alone. I’ll be…” Harley snapped his fingers. “I’ll lay low and record the whole thing. That way we have evidence against them. If your ‘discussing’, you’ll be discussing business, which will play right into our hands.” Peter still looked hesitant, but after a few seconds of mulling it over, he nodded.</p><p>“Okay, but you have to be careful.”</p><p>“You’re the idiot walking into a trap.”</p><p>Peter rolled his eyes and picked up his phone.</p><p>
  <strong>Peter: I’ll be there. </strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>DUUUH DUH DUUUUUUUUH!!!! Things are heating up! I'd like to say I'll get the next one up this month, but considering how long this chapter took me and the fact that I'm taking a 5 credit chemistry class this semester, I don't want to get your hopes up. :( Sorry! I'll still update as soon as possible! Hope you liked it and have a great day/night! </p><p>P.S. Thanks for the comments and kudos! Truly the best!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello beautiful people! Quick blab, first, I’m posting this month, yay! I know, I know, it’s the end of the month, but if it’s up before March 1st, I’m good right?? Haha, anyway, so I had Covid for the better part of February, so that was SUPER fun, and, well, chemistry and statistics stop for neither person, nor virus, so still had to do those, and funny story, I wrote this chapter procrastinating all my homework, so you can thank my sadistic teachers for this chapter! :) Also, is anyone else freaking out about the title release of Spider-Man 3?? Ahhh, anyway, sorry for the blab, enjoy the chapter, and stay safe out there! Thanks for sticking with me even though I’ve taken foreeeever!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony stood looking out at the beach from the back porch, listening to the quiet dialing tone of his phone. It was sunny out, and the bright light reflecting off the pale sand made Tony’s eyes hurt. He closed his eyes and waited patiently for Helen to pick up the phone and tried to organize what he wanted to say when she did.</p>
<p>What was the best way—</p>
<p>Helen's cheery voice rang over the speaker.</p>
<p>“Hi, Tony! I wasn’t expecting your call, is everything okay?”</p>
<p>Tony opened his eyes and readjusted the phone's position in his hand.</p>
<p>“Hi Helen, yeah, everything’s good here, I just wanted to call you to talk to you about…” Tony trailed off for a second. There was an awkward silence. Helen didn’t speak, but after a few seconds, she cleared her throat. Tony started again.</p>
<p>“I called to talk to you about Harley’s GED,” Tony finished, with more confidence than he really felt. Helen cleared her throat again.</p>
<p>“Harley doesn’t have a GED, and he isn’t going to have one,” Helen said with finality. Tony, having expected this, pushed on.</p>
<p>“Okay Helen, before you shut him down completely, can you consider a couple of things?” Tony asked. Helen was quiet for a few moments but gave Tony a quiet sigh and an affirmative. Tony sat down in one of the wicker chairs.</p>
<p>“Okay, hear me out. First of all, none of this is coming from Harley, it’s all from me, and I’ve thought about it a lot.” Tony took a deep breath. “I get that you want him to do senior year but look at it from his point of view. Jules is going to college this year, and I’m sure a lot of his friends have already left. You have to see that has to be hard for him to be the odd one out, right?” Tony paused for Helen to respond.</p>
<p>“Yes, Tony I can understand why he would feel that way, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting him take the GED and jet off somewhere for school. It’s not like he wants to go to college in-state, and I really don’t think he’s ready to live alone,” Helen said, in an irritated tone.</p>
<p>“Okay, okay, but do you really want to watch him be miserable for a year?”</p>
<p>“You’re making it sound like he hates it here,” Helen said.</p>
<p>Tony backtracked <em>real </em>fast.</p>
<p>“No, no, no, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that it would kill him to watch everyone move on without him. You know Harley as well as, if not better, than I do, you know it would kill him. Do you want to stand by and watch that?”</p>
<p>There was silence on the line, and Tony took the opportunity to continue.</p>
<p>“I understand your concerns. The college scene is a lot different than the high school one, I know, and with him moving out of state, he wouldn’t have much of a support group. But it just so happens one of the colleges he’s interested in is NYU.”</p>
<p>More silence.</p>
<p>“Do you see what I’m getting at? If he takes the GED and passes, his grades are good enough to get into NYU. He could live with Pepper and me and go to school in New York. Peter lives in Queens, so Harley already has a friend in New York. Plus, I’m around to keep him out of trouble,” Tony finished. There were a couple beats of silence and he hoped that wasn’t a bad sign.</p>
<p>            When Helen spoke, it was in a quiet, soft tone, and Tony had to strain his ears to hear her.</p>
<p>            “New York is a long way from Tennessee,”</p>
<p>            Tony matched her tone in his response.</p>
<p>            “I know. But I’ll fly you out whenever you want to see him, Helen,”</p>
<p>            Helen scoffed.</p>
<p>            “No, I’m serious. I absolutely will.” Tony reasserted.</p>
<p>            More silence followed, and it seemed to Tony that she was thinking it over.</p>
<p>            “I just want him to be happy, Helen. That’s all I want for him, and I know that’s all you want too…”</p>
<p>            Helen sniffled and Tony sighed.</p>
<p>            “You don’t have to decide today, I just wanted to offer the idea. I haven’t mentioned anything to Harley,” Tony said, sounding defeated. He let his head fall backward, and he closed his eyes. The sun was getting to him again.</p>
<p>            But then, Helen surprised him.</p>
<p>            “It’s a good plan. I just wish it didn’t mean Harley would be leaving so soon after I got him back.”</p>
<p>            Tony brought his head back up and chose his next words carefully.</p>
<p>            “I know. But I’m serious about flying you out. As often as you want.”</p>
<p>            Helen's weak laughter rang through the phone’s speaker.</p>
<p>            “Oh yeah, I’m sure Harley would be <em>thrilled</em> if I flew out to New York every other week to see him…” Helen said sarcastically.</p>
<p>            “Does that mean…?” Tony asked. Helen sighed.</p>
<p>            “Maybe…Maybe that plan would work…It would make Harley…happy.”</p>
<p>            Tony felt like a kid on Christmas and he rejoiced silently.</p>
<p>            “I’ll take good care of him, Helen.”</p>
<p>Helen sighed.</p>
<p>“I know you will. Do me a favor though, can you let me tell him when I come back out there in a couple of weeks? Then we’ll have a few more of the details worked out,”</p>
<p>“Sure, I can keep a secret,”</p>
<p>“Alright. Have a good one, talk soon,” Helen said, getting ready to hang up.</p>
<p>“Yeah you too, bye,”</p>
<p>Tony hung up feeling like he had just negotiated the best deal of his life. All he wanted to do was tell Harley the plan, but he was going to do his best to hold up his end of the bargain with Helen. He slipped his phone in his pocket, stretched his arms, and went back inside.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Tony sat at the kitchen table, coloring one side of Morgan’s coloring book. Morgan, who had the other side of the book, was coloring a goofy cartoon dragon bright purple. Tony colored the dog on his side bright orange. Maybe he would have gone with a normal color for the dog if Morgan had bothered to bring normal colors in her pencil bag, but alas, the dullest color in her arsenal was a muted rose pink. So, Tony had gone with orange. They had been coloring for a while with no interruptions, but it was soon disturbed. Peter and Harley came thumping down the stairs into the kitchen and Tony lifted his pencil from the paper to look at the two boys.</p>
<p>            “Hey guys, whatcha up to?” Tony asked cheerily. He was still in a fantastic mood after talking to Helen earlier that morning and seeing Harley just heightened it. Peter, Tony noticed, had a carefully blank expression on his face, which was a bit odd, to be honest. Tony allowed a little suspicion to dampen his mood, but only slightly. Peter slid into a chair across from Tony, dropping a baseball cap and his phone onto the table. Harley leaned on the staircase, looking innocent.</p>
<p>            Odd.</p>
<p>            “Oh, you know, just chilling. Hey, I was wondering, can Harley and I borrow the car today?” Peter asked, tone casual and calm. Tony put down his orange pencil to scratch the back of his neck. Morgan looked up at him questioningly but opted to continue coloring.</p>
<p>            “Why, what are you guys planning on doing?” Tony asked, doing his best to not sound accusatory. He didn’t really have anything to back up his theory, but the two boys seemed like they were up to something. Harley spoke up from behind Peter.</p>
<p>            “We were gonna catch a movie. They’re doing a screening of The Empire Strikes back in town, and Peter’s a total nerd, so I thought we could go. Is that cool with you?” Harley asked. Everything about his body language was casual. The way he draped his arm over the banister, his posture, even the way Harley made eye contact with Tony.</p>
<p>            Tony had to admit, that sounded like classic Peter. And Harley was interested enough in Star Wars to want to go too. Tony still felt weird about it though, no particular reason why. He scratched his neck again.</p>
<p>            “I guess that’s fine. You’re not planning on committing arson or something while I’m not looking, right?” Tony tilted his head at the two boys and gave them a playful smile. Peter snorted, but Harley answered.</p>
<p>            “Yeah Tony, that’s been our plan all along, wait till you’re not paying attention, and commit <em>arson</em>,” Harley rolled his eyes. “Geeze old man, what kind of menaces to society do you think we are?”</p>
<p>            Tony shrugged. “I don’t know what kids are into these days.”</p>
<p>            Peter shook his head.</p>
<p>            “Kay, could I grab your keys?” Peter asked. Tony nodded.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, they’re on the cabinet.” Tony pointed to where his keys were by the sink. “Don’t crash my car, okay?”</p>
<p>            He stood up and walked over to the sink to grab the keys.</p>
<p>            “I make no promises,” Peter said, more seriously than Tony would have liked.</p>
<p>Tony sighed. Harley straightened as Peter grabbed the keys.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Tony,” Peter called as he walked towards the door. Harley gave Tony and Morgan a half-wave before following Peter towards the front door. When the front door closed behind them, Tony picked up his colored pencil but didn’t start coloring right away, trying to decide if they were acting weird or if he was just imagining things. Tony was so wrapped up in this debate with himself, that when Morgan touched his arm, he jumped.</p>
<p>“Hey daddy, are you going to finish the picture?” She asked. Tony smiled at her.</p>
<p>“Yeah kiddo,” Tony responded and started coloring again.</p>
<p>“I’m gonna give my dragon green flames!” Morgan exclaimed.</p>
<p>“Woah, that’ll be really cool!” Tony responded.</p>
<p>Yeah. He had just been overthinking it. Those two were going to see a movie, what could go wrong?</p>
<hr/>
<p>Peter drove slowly down the back road that led to Phil’s house, nerves rising in his chest. He juggled the guilt of lying to Tony and the terror he felt at the prospect of facing Phil and Alexa in a situation that was more than likely a trap. The closer he got to Phil’s house, the more scenarios of bad outcomes his overactive brain threw at him. He went through each one methodically, trying to think of ways to deal with each possibility. He knew he was psyching himself out, but he couldn’t help it. He had to be ready for anything. The more he thought, the more doubts he started to have, but before the ocean of doubt could wash him away, he was reminded that Harley was there with him when he cleared his throat from the passenger seat.</p>
<p>“So, are we almost there?” Harley asked. Peter let out a puff of air and pushed back his shoulders.</p>
<p>“Yeah, about ten more minutes,” Peter responded, eyes locked on the road ahead.</p>
<p>“What’s our plan?” Harley asked.</p>
<p>“Well, I get out first, you stay out of sight in the car. I’m hoping I can get them outside so you can record them from the car through a cracked window or something, and…I guess we go from there.” Peter sighed. “I really don’t know how this is going to go, or what their plan is, but hopefully they’ll talk to me near the car, so I have an easier escape route and you have an easier time recording us. We…we just have to play it by ear, sorry we don’t have a better plan,” Peter said.</p>
<p>            Harley sighed.</p>
<p>            “It’s fine, that’s sorta how it has to be I guess,”</p>
<p>            There was a brief silence.</p>
<p>            “Is this how you plan your Spider-Man missions too?” Harley asked. Peter nodded.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, pretty much. Never know what’s gonna happen. I’m usually not this nervous though,” Peter confessed.</p>
<p>            “Yeah, well, you usually have a red and blue mask over your face, I’m guessing that makes a difference,” Harley said, matter-of-factly. Peter just nodded again and kept mentally listing scenarios.</p>
<p>            A few more minutes passed.</p>
<p>            “We’ll be there in a couple minutes. You should probably figure out a way to get out of sight,” Peter told Harley. Harley nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt. The seatbelt light lit up and a loud dinging sounded.</p>
<p>            DING! DING! DING!</p>
<p>He slid down from his seat into the cramped space between the seat and the dashboard and ducked his head. He would be spotted if anyone took the time to look inside the car windows, but from a distance, no one would be able to see him. The annoying sound ceased. Harley pulled out his phone and opened the camera. Hopefully, the mic would be sensitive enough to hear talking outside the vehicle.</p>
<p>            Peter rolled down the passenger window just slightly, seeming to be on the same page with Harley. Peter took a deep breath.</p>
<p>            “We’re here,” Peter muttered. “And Alexa and Phil are out front.”</p>
<p>            Harley raised his head slightly.</p>
<p>            “What, why? Why are they outside?” Harley asked in a whisper. Peter pulled the car into the driveway and reached down to the shifter.</p>
<p>            “I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s probably a bad sign,” Peter responded quietly. He pushed the shifter into park.</p>
<p>            They were there.</p>
<p>            “Good luck,” Harley said, not even sure if Peter heard him. Peter opened the door and got out to meet Phil and Alexa. Harley clicked record and held his phone as close to the open window as he dared.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Peter closed his car door as he got out. He pushed back his shoulders and mustered up some confidence that he did not feel. As he walked towards the two people standing in front of the porch like harbingers of his destruction, he tried to take some comfort that Harley was there in case he needed back up.</p>
<p>            It didn’t really help.</p>
<p>            Alexa stood next to Phil; face twisted into one of pure malice. Phil wore a masked worried look that didn’t suit his features. Peter walked willingly towards these people, casually glancing at his watch.</p>
<p>            “Well, it’s eleven, I’m here, alone. What can I do for you charming people today?” Peter asked with feigned cheer. The car was only a couple feet back and he hoped they were close enough. Alexa gave him a malignant smile. Peter returned a steely expression.</p>
<p>            “Well Peter, before we talk business, I’d just like to say,” She walked closer to him, and touched him on the shoulder. Peter held his ground. “I’m breaking up with you.”</p>
<p>            Peter let out a bark of laughter.</p>
<p>            “No. I’m breaking up with <em>you</em>,” Peter said, picking up her wrist off of his shoulder and dropping it like it was a distasteful bug. Alexa looked at Peter, unphased.</p>
<p>            “Well, I suppose it's mutual then,” She said airily.</p>
<p>            “That’s one way of putting it,” Peter muttered, “Let’s get to the point. What do you want?”</p>
<p>                        Alexa backed away.</p>
<p>            “Well, what I want right now is to walk down to the dock. The driveway is such a drab place to have a business meeting, doncha think?” Alexa said, stretching her arms out in the warm sun, looking ever so casual. Peter swallowed.</p>
<p>            “I think business meetings are supposed to be drab. What do you want?” Peter asked, trying to keep their conversation near the car. Alexa waved him off.</p>
<p>            “Come on Petey, let’s go chat over here, come on Phil,” Alexa said, turning casually to her right, walking towards the dock. Phil raised his eyebrows and started following her, gesturing for Peter to follow.</p>
<p>            Peter wanted to bang his head against a wall. He didn’t want to follow, this screamed suspicious, and if it wasn’t bad enough that his common sense screamed it at him, his spidey-sense did too.</p>
<p>            But what choice did he have? When Alexa called for him again, he turned slowly to walk towards her. He just hoped Harley would figure out a way to record their conversation.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Harley stretched his arm painfully towards the window, trying to keep his head ducked while simultaneously trying to make sure his arm couldn’t be seen. He heard Alexa say she was breaking up with Peter, and Harley rolled his eyes. Couldn’t this psycho skip the theatrics and get to the point? Peter apparently felt the same. Harley held his breath when Alexa said she wanted to move this conversation to the dock.</p>
<p>            <em>Come on Peter, get her to stay by the car, get her to stay by the car…</em>Harley pleaded silently.</p>
<p>To no avail. He heard the crunching of Alexa’s footsteps in the gravel as she walked away, followed by what Harley assumed was Phil’s footsteps.</p>
<p>            So much for staying by the car. The footsteps began to fade, but then another set of footsteps finally headed towards the beach. Peter’s. Probably.</p>
<p>            Harley’s mind raced. How was he supposed to record them without being seen now? Harley worried his lower lip as he listened to the third set of footsteps slowly fade. He sat up. He wasn’t doing any good in the car. Hopefully, there would be some type of foliage or rocks or something around for him to use as cover. He took a deep breath and tried to figure out how he was going to be quiet on a crunchy gravel driveway.</p>
<p>            Harley risked rising high enough above the dashboard to see where exactly the trio had gone. Alexa was leading the group down a side path towards the dock, followed by Phil and Peter. There was nothing to hide him along the path but some slightly taller tufts of decorative grass here and there, and they would be just barely enough to cover him if he crouched. Well, that had to be enough. Harley closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Now or never.</p>
<p>            Harley pulled the handle of his door as quietly as he could and pushed the door open slowly, inch by inch, his heart pounding harder with each new centimeter. When the door was finally open wide enough for him to get out, he crossed his fingers that Alexa and Phil were far enough away to not hear his feet on the gravel.</p>
<p>            Harley took a deep breath and slowly stepped out of the car. The gravel shifted under his feet, and he stood unmoving for a few seconds before he risked stepping away from the car.</p>
<p>            Deep breaths.</p>
<p>            He had to get moving. Who knows how much he had missed in the past two minutes while he was getting out of the car.</p>
<p>            He started to walk as quietly as he could around the back of the car, holding his breath every time he thought he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Which was just about after every step he took. He finally reached the back of the car and peered around it to see where they were now.</p>
<p>            The three were stopped near the dock where a large motorboat was moored. They seemed to be talking, and luckily their backs were turned to Harley. He made a run for the sandy area adjacent to the path, trying to step on the rocks as little as possible. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fly though, so he had to step on the rocks, and they made more noise than he wanted them to.</p>
<p>            Cruuuuuunch. Cruuuuuunch. Chhhhhh. Chhhhhh.</p>
<p>He reached the sand and ducked behind one of the grasses. No-one turned to look. Harley let out a quiet breath. At least he wasn’t in the driveway anymore. He still had to get closer in order to hear them though. The next grass was a good three feet away, and the grass closest to Peter was another two feet probably. It was also much smaller and sparser than the others. Oh well, Harley had to make it work, and fast. It already been a few minutes too long, and if he was getting evidence, he kind of had to be where he could actually <em>collect</em> the evidence. He took a deep breath.</p>
<p>He crouched and ran as quickly as he could to the next grass. Running in the sand was much quieter, thankfully. He took a five-second rest and then ran towards the next grass. When he settled behind it, he realized that the grass provided very little cover, and if someone looked right at it, there would be no way they wouldn’t see him.</p>
<p><em>All the more reason to get the info faster…</em>Harley thought. He was able to hear their conversation clearly now, and he angled his phone towards them, filming through the straggly grass.</p>
<p>“…look, I already told you that I didn’t want you to find out, so really, this is your fault,” Alexa told Peter. Peter shook his head.</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, you never told me why you were doing it,” Peter retorted. Alexa’s shrill laughter cut through the air.</p>
<p>“Actually, I think I did! In fact, I’m sure I did! The money is good!” Alexa gestured about wildly and talked to Peter like he was a complete idiot. “Meth addicts are willing to pay any price to get what they want! Plus, when you make it as well as I do, you tend to build a loyal customer base.” Alexa put her hands on Peter's shoulders.</p>
<p>“Is that so hard to understand? Hell, I can make it better than the guy that taught me how, ain’t that right Phil?” Alexa turned to Phil for confirmation. Phil smirked at her like he was proud she surpassed him.</p>
<p>“Yup passed me up a long time ago. Make some of the best meth I’ve ever had the pleasure of selling,” Phil boasted. Alexa turned her head back to Peter, who stared her in the eyes, looking disgusted.</p>
<p>Harley’s nose started to itch from being so close to the grass. He scratched his nose, accidentally shaking his phone in the process. Come on, now was not the time for allergies.</p>
<p>“What an accomplishment. Making meth. You must be very proud,” Peter said, deadpan. Alexa shoved him and he stumbled back slightly.</p>
<p>“I am proud. Made that lab myself too. Harder than you might think to get ahold of the right materials. Anyway, I’ve worked too hard for this for some random kid on vacation to ruin it for me. That’ll teach me to be more selective with my carriers in the future,” Alexa said, more to herself than anyone else.</p>
<p>Harley’s itch got worse. No, no, no. He could not sneeze, not now, he rubbed his nose frantically, trying to stop the itching.</p>
<p>Peter spoke next.</p>
<p>“You won’t be selecting anyone else. I’m ending this,”</p>
<p>Harley tried to hold his breath to stop the sneeze that was coming on.</p>
<p>Alexa smiled mockingly.</p>
<p>“Aw, that’s cute, you think you’re leaving. Listen, yo—”</p>
<p>Harley sneezed. Loudly and unmistakably. Shit. He ended the video right as Phil and Alexa’s head snapped to attention, looking directly at the grass that Harley was using as a hiding place. Phil’s eyes narrowed.</p>
<p>“Phil! Get him!” Alexa screeched.</p>
<p>Harley’s head was spinning, he had to send this video to Tony, and he didn’t have much time. He opened his contact list trying to get to Tony’s name but there was no way he had enough time to scroll through all his contacts. He clicked on his most recent contact which happened to be Jules. He hoped she would know what to do. He pressed send right as Phil got to the grass. Harley jumped backward and threw his phone as hard as he could at a large rock a foot or so away.</p>
<p>The phone’s screen shattered and blinked angrily before fading out completely. Good thing Harley didn’t keep his phone in a case.</p>
<p>Phil grabbed him before he could do anything else, and Harley kicked and punched and tried to get away, but Phil was bigger and stronger than Harley. Shit.</p>
<p>Harley did the best he could, but it was useless, Phil held on tight.  </p>
<p>“Get off me, asshole!” Harley shouted. Phil completely disregarded Harley’s protests.</p>
<p>“Harley, I’m coming!” Peter shouted, and he started running towards the tussle between Phil and Harley, but in his distress over Harley’s situation, he underestimated Alexa, who was coming up behind him with an oar. Harley shouted in alarm.</p>
<p>“Peter! Look out!”</p>
<p>            But it was too late. Alexa hit the side of Peter’s head with the oar with extreme force, and Peter’s eyes rolled back in his head. He crumpled and fell face-first into the sand.</p>
<p>            Harley started struggling even more if it was possible, furious, and scared. Alexa looked distastefully at Peter and then walked briskly over to where Harley and Phil were.</p>
<p>            “Look out Phil,” Alexa said calmly. Harley pulled back as much as he could.</p>
<p>            “Don’t you dare Alexa, don’t you freaking dare!” Harley shouted. Alexa smiled at him and then proceeded to hit him over the head in the same manner she did with Peter.</p>
<p>            A sharp, throbbing pain went through Harley’s head, and the last thing he heard before everything faded to black was: “I guess we’ve got two to deal with now. Better tie ‘em up and get going. No, leave his phone, it’s fried anyway, and we can deal with it after we take care of them.”</p>
<p>            Then Harley heard nothing and felt nothing. Just the sweet embrace of cold, quiet, darkness.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Jules finished watching the video that Harley had sent her without context, and she felt sick to the stomach. The lunch that she had just finished eating threatened to come back up.</p>
<p>            She had known they had been involved in something, but she never thought it would be something like this. Jules swallowed and dialed the number of the only person who could help right now.</p>
<hr/>
<p>            Tony sat on the couch watching a reality TV show that he had been paying too much attention to. He was home alone because Pepper and Morgan had gone beachcombing and he hadn’t really felt like it because it was so hot outside, so there he sat, deeply engrossed in which dress Stephanie was going to choose. His phone started ringing next to him. He looked at the screen and it was Jules Keener’s name on the screen.</p>
<p>            Huh. What would she be needing?</p>
<p>            He clicked the accept call button.</p>
<p>            “Hello, what can—” Jules cut him off.</p>
<p>            “Tony, I’m about to forward you a video Harley just sent me. I can’t do anything because I’m in freaking Rosehill, but Harley and Peter are mixed up in something bad. You need to get ahold of them,” Jules said, talking a hundred miles per hour. Tony switched off the TV.</p>
<p>            “Jules, what’s going on?” Tony asked, suddenly very alert.</p>
<p>            “I don’t know! I just sent you the video! Watch it and find them, call me back when you do, I don’t know why he sent it to me and not to you, but you have it now. I’m hanging up now because I’m going to try and get ahold of Harley.” The line went dead.</p>
<p>            Tony opened up the message from Jules and watched the entire video.</p>
<p>            Tony felt sick.</p>
<p>            The girl Peter had been seeing all summer was a drug manufacturer? And Peter hadn’t told him? Harley hadn’t told him? What the hell!</p>
<p>            Tony jumped up from the couch and dialed Harley’s number. One ring.</p>
<p>            “Hey, you’ve reached Harley, I’ll call you back! Probably not, actually, but leave a message!”</p>
<p>            Straight to voicemail.</p>
<p>            Tony dialed Peter's number next. It started to ring.</p>
<p>            Tony heard Peter’s ringtone coming from the kitchen. Tony ran to the kitchen only to find Peter’s phone ringing next to his hat on the table. He had forgotten to pick them up before he left. Tony was starting to panic now. What was he going to do?</p>
<p>            Tony activated Friday on his phone.</p>
<p>            “Friday, send a suit to my coordinates and dial Rhodey,”</p>
<p>            “Yes, Boss,” Friday’s voice responded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, well, well. The boys are in quite a pickle. Thanks for all your comments and kudos, they make me very happy and you all are truly lovely people. Love ya guys! Till next time, ciao!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Early update, woohoo! Sooo I really want to get chapter 20 up by next week, so, that's the plan. Hopefully it works out for us! Also, can you believe we're on chapter 19?? Only three more chapters to go! Anyway, enjoy! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony paced the kitchen, while he waited for Rhodey to pick up the phone. Tony was doing his best to remain calm after watching the video that Jules sent, but it wasn’t working. It replayed over, and over again in his head. After talking to Peter, he had assumed they were all clear, and Peter hadn’t been hiding anything from him. Obviously, he was wrong in his assumption. He should have known. Harley had a bad feeling about Alexa, and the two boys had been fighting about it. Harley had apparently been right, and Peter realized it, and <em>neither </em>of the boys had told him <em>anything</em>. What were they even doing there today, they clearly <em>knew </em>she was dangerous.</p><p>            Tony’s frustration was growing, along with his worry. He hoped the two idiots were okay, but ugh! Idiots! Why wouldn’t they have told him?</p><p>            Why was it taking Rhodey so long to answer? Tony needed him to track Harley’s cell. If that was even possible, his phone had gone straight to voicemail. Sure, Tony could probably do it with Friday and his phone, but there was something in him that just needed someone else to handle this with him. Over the five years the boys had been gone, he had learned to go to people for support, and he supposed it had formed a habit. It would also help to have someone with a desktop to do some digging.</p><p>            “Come on Rhodey, answer your damn phone…” Tony muttered to himself.</p><p>            Not even one second later, Rhodey picked up the phone.</p><p>            “Hey, Tony, how’s—"</p><p>            “Yeah Rhodey, hey, listen I need your help with something,”</p><p>            Tony broke into a brief explanation of the situation to Rhodey, explaining about the video, and how Harley didn’t answer his phone, then, finally asking Rhodey to figure out where Harley was. Rhodey was silent momentarily.</p><p>            “Seriously, how does this happen to you on a vacation,”</p><p>            “Because the universe hates me, can you stop wasting time?”</p><p>            “Yeah, yeah, I’m working on it now, just wait a second. I’m sure they’re going to be fine Tony, just stay calm,”</p><p>            Tony scoffed.</p><p>            “Sure, I’ll get right on that, when Peter and Harley aren’t in the hands of drug lords!” Tony rubbed his face viciously.</p><p>            “Okay, I just hacked into Harleys find my phone account, kid needs to change his password by the way,”</p><p>            “I’ll lecture him on the importance of account security <em>right </em>after I yell at him about hanging out with people that make and sell drugs. Do you have his location yet?” Tony asked urgently.  </p><p>            “Good, it’s an important topic,” Tony could have died from all the frustration pulsing through his body. “Anyway, looks like the last time the app picked up the location of Harley’s phone was about twenty-five minutes ago, and now it’s showing no signal. I’ll send you the location it’s giving me, one second,” Rhodey went silent.</p><p>            Tony put his phone on speaker and went to his messages, anxiously waiting for the location to come through. His phone buzzed when the message arrived, and when he clicked on it, his maps were showing a twenty-five-minute drive.  </p><p>            “Is this a house, or warehouse, or what?” Tony asked as he searched for his keys which he could have sworn were just sitting on the counter. He walked over to the couch, thinking maybe he left them there.</p><p>            “Looking at the map now… it’s a house, a really crappy one from the looks of it. There’s also a boat tied up at a dock a little ways from it in the satellite image,” Rhodey said.</p><p>            Tony searched through the couch cushions, and still couldn’t find his keys. He threw a pillow at the couch. And then, just like the pillow hit the couch, the realization of where his keys were, hit him.</p><p>            The boys had taken the car.</p><p>            He had no way of getting to that house because he didn’t have a car.</p><p>            “Shit,” Tony swore, running one hand through his hair, the other hand still holding the phone.</p><p>            “What?” Rhodey asked, alarm increasing in his voice.</p><p>            “They took my car, I don’t have a way of getting there,” Tony hissed, through gritted teeth. “Friday, what’s the ETA on my suit?” Tony asked.</p><p>            “Approximately forty-five minutes till it reaches your location,”</p><p>            Tony pulled at his hair in frustration. If he couldn’t get to that house soon, who knows what would happen to Peter and Harley, if they were even still at the house. Tony felt his chest tighten with anxiety. He took a deep breath, keeping the rising panic at bay.</p><p>            “Okay, new plan. Friday, reroute the suit to the address Rhodey just sent me. Rhodey, dig up anything you can on the owner of the house, there was some guy in the video that I’ve never even heard of, he might be the owner.” Tony jogged to the front door and wrenched it open.</p><p>            “Rerouting the suit,” Friday said helpfully.</p><p>            “I’ll see what I can do. How are you going to get there Tony, take an Uber?”</p><p>            “Yeah, that’s going to be really efficient, wait around for an uber to get here, and hope they ignore traffic laws the same way they do in New York. That’ll work great,” Tony responded, slamming the door behind him in his rush and going down the front steps two at a time. Rhodey sighed on the other line and Tony could almost hear him roll his eyes.</p><p>            “What are you going to do then, genius?” Rhodey asked.</p><p>            “I’m either going to steal a car, or ask nicely for one, whichever one works faster,” Tony said, jogging up the driveway, taking a sharp left turn at the end. He knew the closest house to theirs was in that direction.</p><p>            “You’re just going to casually walk up to someone and ask for their car? Tony Stark? You know, the famous Tony Stark?” Rhodey asked.</p><p>            “If anything, the fame will be an incentive for them to let me borrow their car,” Tony responded, jogging faster, a small powder blue house coming into his line of sight. Rhodey was silent for a moment.</p><p>            “Yeah…probably,” Rhodey admitted.</p><p>            The house was just a little further, but he didn’t see a car in the driveway. Hopefully, they had one in the garage. The absence of a car in the driveway did mean he would have to ask nicely though, so Tony took a deep breath, and sprinted the last few feet to the house’s porch.</p><p>            He shoved his phone in his back pocket roughly, and he knocked frantically on the front door, praying that someone would answer.</p><p>            After a minute or so of knocking, Tony almost gave up on someone answering. He stopped knocking and was going to try the next house, even though it was significantly farther down the road, but just when he was about to walk away, the front door was cracked open.</p><p>            A shaky woman’s voice reached out from behind the front door.</p><p>            “Hello? Can I help you?” The woman asked sweetly, not opening the door any farther. Doing his best to not look like a deranged lunatic, Tony cocked his head and gave the woman the best smile he could manage.</p><p>            “Hi, I’m Tony Stark, and I’m in a little of a bind right now. Do you happen to have a car I could borrow?” He asked, trying to keep his calm demeanor. The door was quickly opened the rest of the way.</p><p>            It revealed a stout old woman, wearing a purple robe, square glasses, and sporting bright green, Velcro rollers in her white hair.</p><p>            “Oh, I’ve seen you before, dear!” The woman said brightly. Tony almost groaned because he knew what she was going to say next; “Aren’t you that guy who fought the aliens?” or some variation of that.</p><p>“You’re staying in the house down the way, right?” The woman asked sweetly. That threw Tony a curveball.</p><p>“Um, yeah. The yellow one,” He said, a little dumbly, both surprised and grateful that she hadn’t recognized his name or his face.</p><p>“Oh yes! I’ve seen you and your family out on the beach. You’re two boys were walking by my back porch a few weeks ago and I gave them some cookies! Really sweet boys you have, I don’t usually get many visitors, well except for door-to-door salesman, which I would really rather live without, so it was nice of them to talk to me for a little bit. I’m sorry, I’ve been rude, my name is Caroline, dear, please come in,” Caroline stepped to the side of her door, and opened it a bit wider to let Tony in.</p><p>Tony just stood on the porch for a second, a little shocked that he had never seen this lady that had apparently seen him. And apparently, Harley and Peter had visited her. They hadn’t even told him about a little old lady they had met. Peter used to ramble on about stuff like that all the time. It hurt that Peter hadn’t told him, even though it was something really small. Tony felt like an idiot for thinking that one conversation with Peter had fixed all their problems.</p><p> Tony had been lingering on the porch for a little too long with all these thoughts racing through his head, so he tried to clear his head and get back to the matter at hand. He walked through the space in the threshold that Caroline had made for him. Caroline smiled widely at him.</p><p>“Would you like some cookies dear? I made a fresh batch. I have lemonade too!” She said excitedly. Tony cleared his throat.</p><p>“No, thank you. You said you had a car I could borrow…?” Tony trailed off, not trying to be rude, but he had to get going.</p><p>“Oh of course! I’m sorry, I forgot, you said you had trouble of some kind?” Caroline inquired, looking terribly concerned, even though she had just met Tony. Her large glasses seemed to magnify the concern in her eyes.</p><p>“Yeah, and…my car’s not here at the moment, and I really have to get somewhere fast, so,” Tony said. Caroline nodded vigorously.</p><p>“Of course! I’m happy to help you, I hope it’s nothing too serious?” She said, turning away from Tony. “One moment, dear, I just have to find my keys, I don’t drive much. Are you sure you don’t want some cookies, or maybe a sandwich?” She offered, as she started walking towards a coffee table with a bowl sitting on it that was overflowing with various items.</p><p>Tony tried to not think about the precious seconds ticking by that something bad could be happening to Harley and Peter as he was standing here chatting.</p><p>“No, I just need to borrow your car. I’ll have it back as soon as I can,” Tony said, taking a couple deep breaths to stay calm. Tony watched as Caroline dug through the overflowing bowl, pulling out old receipts, loose change, and sunglasses until she heard a faint jingle.  </p><p>“Ha, I found them!” Caroline stood up straight from her stooped position holding a key ring in her hand triumphantly. She turned back to Tony who was keeping his stressed expression hidden as well as he was able, which, coincidentally, wasn’t that well. Caroline’s eyebrows creased with sympathy for Tony.</p><p>“Here you go, dear, my cars in the garage. You can keep it for as long as you need.” She placed the keyring that had the car key and a shiny silver teddy bear keychain into Tony’s outstretched hand. “Follow me, I’ll show you where Bertha is,” She smiled, amused with herself. “Bertha is my car’s name,” Caroline said and started walking slowly towards the kitchen, where presumably, the door leading to the garage was. Her slippers made a flopping noise against the wooden floor as she walked. Tony followed behind her.</p><p>Caroline got to the kitchen first since she was walking in front of Tony, and she walked over to one of her countertops to pick something up. What she was picking up, Tony had no idea. That is until she turned around again and was holding a zip loc bag of what appeared to be chocolate chip cookies.</p><p>“Here, there’s too many for just me, dear, and it looks like you need them,” She handed the bag to Tony who took it reluctantly.</p><p>“Uh, thank you,” Tony said. She patted his arm lightly and then crossed over to the door on the left side of the kitchen and pulled it open, gesturing for Tony to go out. Tony walked through the door into a dark garage. Caroline clicked her garage door opener, and the light that was beginning to peek in through the growing gap underneath the garage door revealed a rusty, brown, VW hatchback that had to be from the ’70s.</p><p>Not for the first time that day, Tony held in a groan.</p><p>“There’s Bertha, you go take care of your troubles, and bring her back when you can. Good luck, dear, say hello to your boys for me!” She said, shaky voice bright, the opposite of Tony’s mood. Oh well, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and he was grateful to at least have a car. He turned to Caroline and nodded at her.</p><p>“Thanks for your help,”</p><p>With that, Tony walked down the garage steps, over to the car, and pulled the door open. Dust rubbed off on his hand, and he had a feeling that this car wasn’t going to start. He took a deep breath and got in the front seat. He put the key in the ignition and turned it.</p><p>The car sputtered weakly for a few seconds and then roared to life. Hallelujah.</p><p>Caroline waved to him from where she was standing in front of the car, and he gave her a slight wave back, before backing out of the now completely open garage. Hopefully, Bertha could go at least 45 but Tony wasn’t going to hold out any hope. Once he was out of the garage and driving towards the main road, he fished his phone out of his pocket to get his navigation going and to see what Rhodey had found.</p><p>“Rhodey, you still with me?” Tony asked, trying to get to the right app while also pressing his foot to the gas as hard as possible.</p><p>“Yep, still with you, did you get a car?”</p><p>“Yeah, I got a car, have you been able to find anything?” Tony asked. The car was shaking, and he was barely going 45 miles per hour.</p><p>“Looks like that house was sold to a Philip J Little, about six years ago, I looked to see if he was registered for a boat, and he was, the same one as in the picture, but that’s not all. The guy has a criminal record. Not a long one, but he’s been booked for possession of drugs and intent to distribute, served a few years in his twenties for that,” Rhodey listed off.</p><p>“Somehow, that doesn’t really surprise me,” Tony grumbled. “Any associations I should know about, like the mob or anything?” Tony asked.</p><p>“Not that I can find. This guy’s been pretty much off the radar for the last six years, basically since he bought that house. Be careful though, just because there’s nothing in the system, doesn’t mean he’s been squeaky clean for that long,”</p><p>            “Yeah, I’d think the fact that he taught a teenager to make meth would mean he’s not squeaky clean,” Tony said, pressing the gas even harder and making the car whine. He reached 48 miles per hour.</p><p>            This was going to take a while.</p><hr/><p>            The first thing Harley felt when he woke up was pain. His head was throbbing, and his arms were bent in an awkward, uncomfortable position and there was something rough and scratchy encircling his hands. He snapped his eyes open.</p><p>            His vision was blurry, but through the blur, he could tell he was on a boat. The sound of the ocean felt deafening around him. He shook his head to clear the haze. His surroundings came into focus.</p><p>            Alexa and Phil were standing at the front of the boat, talking conspiratorially in low voices. Harley suddenly remembered he wasn’t the only one that got knocked out. He turned his head quickly to the right, but Peter wasn’t there. Shit, what happened to Peter? He spun his head to the other side, swimming vision the least of his worries now. He saw Peter there, slumped, tied up, and unconscious.  A wave of relief washed over him. Peter was fine, aside from the obvious. Harley took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. Well, this sucked. Both he and Peter were at the mercy of these psycho’s, and what was worse was that Harley knew this could have been avoided if he would have <em>just told Tony</em>, to hell with Peter’s hero complex. As his head began to clear, he became even more irritated at himself and Peter. He struggled against his bonds, trying to get his hands out of the tight ropes. He could feel them digging into his skin every time he moved. Why the hell didn’t he tell Tony, he <em>knew </em>he should have told Tony, but no, he HAD to be honorable or something and help Peter with this horrible plan. Ugh! He gave another rough tug on one of his hands, trying to pull it out. The rope remained steadfast, and it merely burned Harley’s wrists more.</p><p>            “Come. On. Freaking. Rope.” He tugged on the rope and muttered to himself, trying not to attract Alexa and Phil’s attention. After another failed attempt at freeing himself, he cursed under his breath. A groan sounded next to him. Harley paused his struggling to look at Peter.</p><p>            Peter brought his slumped head up, slowly. Peter took great effort to open his eyes, and once they were open, he blinked lethargically. For the first time, Harley noticed the congealing blood on the side of Peter’s head. A jolt of panic shot through Harley.</p><p>            “Peter. Hey, Peter.” It took Harley a second to get Peter’s attention. Peter turned at the sound of Harley’s voice, still blinking slowly.</p><p>            “Hey Harley, you having fun yet? You good?” Peter asked sluggishly. He tried to reach up and touch his head but was stopped by the rope that bound his hands as well. He managed a weak glare pointed at the rope.</p><p>            “Oh yeah, just having a freaking blast,” Harley whispered sarcastically. “Your head’s bleeding, you okay?”</p><p>            Peter stretched his neck from one side to the other, seemingly trying to clear his head.</p><p>            “Yeah, pretty sure it’s just a scratch. Head wounds just bleed a lot, I should be fine.” He said, scrunching up his eyes. “Pretty sure the headache is a concussion though.”</p><p>            “Yeah, it probably is. One neither of us would have had if we had just told Tony, idiot,” Harley sniped, irritation returning now that he had gotten Peter’s self-diagnosis. Peter turned his glare towards Harley.</p><p>            “Who you calling an idiot, you didn’t have to come you know,” Peter argued back.</p><p>            “Oh yeah, that must have been the solution, Parker, just let you get beat to hell by some psychopaths, by yourself, brilliant plan.”</p><p>            “Is this really the time to debate the intelligence of our plan—”</p><p>            “No, usually the time to debate the intelligence of a plan, is before executing the plan, but you know, details,” Harley said looking up at the sky, and pulling on his ropes again. Peter rolled his eyes in return, which made his headache a little worse.</p><p>            “Oh, chill out,” Peter said, focusing his eyes on Alexa and Phil for a moment.</p><p>            Harley looked at Peter again, only this time his gaze was entirely deadpan, and he allowed a few seconds of silence to really soak in the idiocy of that suggestion. Ah, yes, chill out while he was on a strange boat in the middle of the ocean somewhere.  Yes.</p><p>            He was about to give Peter a response when Peter looked back at him.</p><p>            “Have you been paying attention to their conversation at all?” Peter asked with a curious expression on his face. Harley blinked.</p><p>            “Uh, not really, I can’t hear them over the boat and the ocean,” Harley said blankly, giving up on his frustration. He comforted himself by resolving to give Peter shit about it after they got out of the situation.</p><p>            “Well, I can, and it would probably be advisable to come up with an actual plan instead of complaining about our old plan,” Peter said, snark coating his voice.</p><p>            “You know what? You…you are so freaking annoying, what the hell did they say?” Harley asked quietly.</p><p>            “Oh, not much, just how this could blow their cover if it fails, and how it’s really annoying, but mostly they’re discussing how far to go out to dump us,” Peter said cheerily, repositioning himself to lean forward slightly.</p><p>            “Wha—” Harley started loudly.</p><p>            “Shh! You want to blow our cover?” Peter asked, looking back at their captors to make sure they hadn’t heard Harley’s outburst. Harley composed himself.</p><p>            “Yeah, I shouldn’t be surprised, cool, good to know. Awesome,” Harley said coolly. “Well, what are we going to do, we’re both tied up, a plan’s not going to do much good if—”</p><p>            There was a quiet snap as Peter’s ropes went limp around his wrists. He shook them off quietly. Harley stared at him.</p><p>            “What? Super strength, remember?” Peter said, rubbing his now free wrists.</p><p>            Harley, who definitely hadn’t remembered, gave Peter a slight nod.</p><p>            “Right. Of course. Do me a solid and break mine, would ya?” Harley asked gesturing behind him with his head. Peter looked thoughtful.</p><p>“What would you do if I said no?” Peter asked innocently. Harley glared at him.</p><p>“I swear you weren’t this freaking annoying before.”</p><p>Peter shrugged. “Must be because of the pressure, it’s my defense mechanism,” He offered. Harley raised his eyebrows. Peter’s cocky expression subsided.</p><p>“Okay, okay, let me break them,” Peter said. Harley turned slightly to give Peter access to his hands. Peter grabbed the ropes.</p><p>“Listen, once you’re free, our plans gonna be simple, we’re literally just going to try and take them down, hopefully, we can tie them up,” Peter whispered, flashing his eyes over to where Alexa and Phil were to make sure they hadn’t moved.</p><p>“Well, simplicity is the best policy,” Harley said.</p><p>“I thought honesty was the best policy?” Peter asked.</p><p>“Whatever.”</p><p>Peter chuckled quietly. The ropes made a subtle snapping noise as they broke.</p><hr/><p>            There was a loud snapping noise as Tony drove over a stick in the driveway of the blue house. He came to a stop and roughly pulled the ancient shifter into park. He threw open his door and got out of the car. Apart from the house looking like it was going to be condemned in the near future, Tony noticed his car was parked in front of it, passenger side door ajar with no sign of anyone being in it recently. He ran a hand through his hair and walked over to the car, the deafening sound of gravel, blending in with the sound of the cicadas in the trees. He reached the passenger side door of the car and looked inside, only to find it empty. There was no indication of a struggle in the vehicle. Tony closed the door and went around the front of the car, looking for any signs of the boys, or of anyone else. He scanned the house and the surrounding area, not really seeing anything of interest. It was possible the boys were in the house…Tony turned his head back and scrutinized it. It looked quiet and peaceful inside. Tony took a step towards the rickety porch but then, something to the side of the house caught his eye. It was a narrow path leading down to a dock, and there was scuffed up sand at the beginning of the path, like it had been walked across recently.  </p><p>            Tony immediately changed directions, and veered towards the path, walking quickly. As he got farther and farther down the path, he caught sight of more and more concerning details. Off the pathway, to his left, there was a grass that was more or less crushed, looking like it had been trampled in a struggle. Although the crushed plant was unnerving, it was nowhere near as concerning as the blood in the sand at the end of the pathway. Tony jogged over to the blood-soaked sand, and upon further inspection, it looked like <em>a lot.</em> Tony’s chest began to tighten rapidly, and he felt sick to his stomach. He turned away, trying to swallow the bile rising in his throat. Blood had never bothered him before. He had seen lots of blood in his lifetime, more than anyone should, but it had never made him feel sick. But something. Something about thinking about what that blood could mean made him sick.</p><p>He swallowed and tried not to let his imagination run wild. He reasoned with himself that fatal wounds bled a lot; More than what was staining the sand. This was his reasoning, and he was holding onto it with a death grip. Even the sun seemed doubtful of Tony’s conclusion. It hid behind a cloud, making the area look even bleaker, dampening Tony’s already somber mood.</p><p>He cleared his throat and scanned his surroundings again, willing himself to see Harley and Peter, even though he knew they weren’t there. He walked over to the crushed plant to see if there were any clues around. To his dismay, while he was walking towards the plant, he saw an abandoned oar with blood on the flat of it. He swallowed the rising bile once again and pushed forward.</p><p>Other than the poor, flattened plant, there wasn’t much else over there. Tony scanned the area once again. The clouds that covered the sun dispersed. The intense heat of the sun returned, along with the blinding brightness of it. Tony had to force himself to keep his eyes open. The sun glinted off something laying in the sand a few feet away. Tony walked over to see what it was.</p><p>It wasn’t anything encouraging.</p><p>In the sand laid the cracked and broken remains of Harley’s cell phone. Tony picked it up tenderly, shaking as much sand off of it as he could. It was completely ruined, and the screen wouldn’t even turn on when he pushed the on button.</p><p>He had to find them.</p><p>Tony shoved the broken phone in one of his jean pockets and pulled his cellphone out of another. He felt a twinge of regret that he had hung up with Rhodey, but it wasn’t necessary to call him back, at least not yet. He stood, unmoving for a moment not quite knowing what to do next.</p><p>And then he realized something.</p><p>The boat that Rhodey said was in the satellite pictures was gone.</p><p>Tony would bet a million dollars that the two boys were on that boat.</p><p>He would also bet that there was a trackable GPS on that boat because there was no way the two idiots with Harley and Peter had put a firewall on their boat’s GPS.</p><p>“Friday, you know that boat that Rhodey and I were talking about, the one registered to Philip J Little? I need you to tap into that boat's GPS, and get me its coordinates,” Tony told Friday.</p><p>“On it. ETA of your suit, approximately five minutes,” Friday replied.</p><hr/><p>            Peter’s blood pumped with adrenaline. Even though his mind was still a little foggy from his recent meeting with an improvised club and the side of his head felt raw from where said club had broken the skin, he honestly felt the best he had in months. <em>This </em>was normal. Taking on the big bad. Sure, it definitely wasn’t under the usual circumstances. Harley was there, and Peter had to make sure he didn’t get hurt. He wasn’t Spider-Man, and this wasn’t New York. It was a boat in the middle of South Carolina. But he was kind of…always Spider-Man? Maybe he wasn’t as confidant without the suit, but right now, as he and Harley positioned themselves for attack, he felt <em>good</em>. <em>Normal</em>.</p><p>            Even being slightly concussed felt normal. And the normality felt so good, he forgot all of his apprehension from before Alexa knocked him out.</p><p>            Harley nudged Peter with his elbow and nodded his head in the direction of Alexa and Phil, who still had yet to turn around and check on their prisoners.</p><p>            Should be easy, Peter thought. He nodded back at Harley, and they both began to quietly approach Phil and Alexa.</p><p>            Their plan was almost perfect, catching Phil and Alexa by surprise and making quick work of detaining them.</p><p>            It would have been flawless if it hadn’t been for the fact that the boat had stopped shortly after the two boys started their approach. It even would have probably worked out alright if Alexa hadn’t turned around. Unfortunately for Peter, his initial plan not working out also felt extremely normal. Alexa turned around while Harley and Peter were still several feet away.</p><p>            Whoops.</p><p>            Alexa’s eyes widened in shock at the two boys standing in front of her, obviously having expected them to still be tied up and slumped on the deck, and not in offensive positions, waiting to attack.</p><p>            Both parties froze for a split second, sizing the other up. Peter grinned slightly.</p><p>            “Aww, you didn’t think you could get rid of me that easy, did you?” Peter asked sweetly.</p><p>            Then, all hell broke loose.</p><p>            Alexa called behind her for Phil to turn around which he was already in the process of doing after hearing Peter’s voice. Peter took her brief moment of distraction as an opening to tackle her. Alexa countered with surprising strength, and kneed Peter in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him.</p><p>            “Now that…” Peter wheezed, “wasn’t very nice to do to your ex-boyfriend,” Peter commented, dropping to his knees, holding his stomach.</p><p>            Alexa backed up slightly, regaining her footing.</p><p>            “That was the point,” She said in a frenzied voice, her southern accent thickening with her stress.</p><p>            Phil, hearing Alexa’s call of distress had spun around, only to be met with a powerful punch from Harley. Phil didn’t leave that punch unmatched, and punched Harley back, hard and fast right across the face. Pain erupted across Harley’s face, and he felt the skin covering his cheekbone split. He backed away for a second ignoring the searing pain on his cheek. He retaliated with a punch straight to Phil’s stomach.</p><p>            On the other side, Peter, still coughing, fell onto his side. Alexa took the chance to kick him while he was down and sent a kick flailing towards Peter's exposed chest. Peter jumped back quickly, anticipating the cheap shot, and caught her foot in his grasp, pulling down hard to unbalance her.</p><p>“Whoops, I think ya just fell for me,” Peter chuckled to himself.</p><p>Alexa came crashing to the ground in front of Peter, and he stood up quickly, but not quick enough. She used her leg to swipe at one of Peter’s legs, and he was just unbalanced enough from the head trauma that he tripped and fell back to the deck, hitting his knees.</p><p>            Harley and Phil on the other hand were having an outright brawl, skipping right over the subtle art of unbalancing your opponent. It was difficult to tell who was winning. For each punch or kick one of them threw, the other threw back twice as hard. Harley threw a punch to the side of Phil’s chest, and dodged a swipe at his face, but then Phil caught him when his guard was down after dodging and delivered a hard blow to the back of his head, definitely not helping Harley’s headache.</p><p>            After what felt like a very long game of “I have the high ground” Peter and Alexa gave up on trying to trip each other because neither of them would stay down for long before tripping the other again. Peter had a series of bruises on his legs and sides to prove that.</p><p>            Peter jabbed at Alexa with his fist, but she dodged effectively, while also sending a punch back which hit Peter’s shoulder.</p><p>            “Alexa, you have some anger issues, you should get that checked out,” Peter said, out of breath, dodging a kick from a seething Alexa. He had a couple options, either try to trip her again or punch her. Eh, what could it hurt? Peter tripped Alexa again, this time right as she was going in for another punch. It caught her completely off guard and she fell forward, just missing landing on her face. Peter went in to try and pin her, but she spun around onto her back and planted another kick in Peter’s stomach. He staggered back, less unbalanced than the first time.</p><p>            “You talk too much, you jackass,” Alexa spat. Peter coughed.</p><p>            “Funny. You’re not the first to say that.”</p><p>            The tables had started to turn for Harley who was still in hand-to-hand combat with Phil, and not for the better. Phil punched Harley hard in the chest and Harley staggered. Another hit landed on Harley’s face, forcing him to take a more defensive position. Harley was out of breath not used to this type of physical strain. He saw another punch about to land, and he ducked and side-stepped. He could hear Peter bantering with Alexa, and it looked like Peter was doing alright. Harley was distracted by Peter and Phil landed another punch. Ow. Harley shot back another punch. It landed but did practically no damage. Phil had begun to back Harley up against the rail.</p><p>            “I barely know you kid, but you’re really starting to piss me off,” Phil said with gritted teeth.</p><p>            “Oh yeah? News flash buddy, I hate you too,” Harley said, kneeing him in the groin. Phil doubled over in pain. Harley put some distance between them.</p><p>            “Hey Peter, ya think I could get some help, or are you too busy chatting with your ex?” Harley called, looking apprehensively at Phil, who recovered much quicker than anticipated and somehow looked even meaner and more pissed off.</p><p>            Peter dodged another hit from Alexa while delivering one of his own.</p><p>            “Can you hold your own for a little longer?” Peter called, genuinely asking. Alexa roared in rage and hit Peter across the face as hard as she possibly could. Peter’s head snapped back slightly. Alexa started pushing him, trying to unbalance him again. “As you can see, she’s taking her pent-up aggression. Out. On. Me!” Peter called sarcastically as he shoved back, pushing her farther away from him.</p><p>            “Sure, blame it on the girl,” Harley shouted sarcastically, dodging another hit from Phil. He hadn’t been able to get many good punches in for a while as he had been too busy dodging left and right, plus, he had spent a lot of his energy swinging wildly at the beginning of the fight.</p><p><em>I should really take a self-defense class, </em>he thought, giving Phil a weak punch to the chest. He was right on the railing of the boat now. Phil grabbed the collar of Harley’s shirt and shook him, making Harley’s head feel like a mixed-up bingo ball cage.</p><p>“Say hi to the sharks for me!” Phil said, grinning viciously as he shoved Harley overboard. There was a resounding splash as Harley landed in the water. Harley spluttered after landing but soon started treading. He spat some saltwater out.</p><p>“Oh no. I’m in the water. I can’t swim.” He said, staring deadpan at Phil, as he was obviously treading. Phil glared at Harley and turned away.</p><p>Peter’s head snapped in the direction of the sound and saw Phil wiping imaginary dust off his hands. Peter swore under his breath, and he lost his cocky attitude. Alexa tackled him, and Peter shoved back as hard as he could. Alexa went flying across the deck. Unfortunately, he now had two people to contend with, and Phil was fast approaching. It wouldn’t be the first time he took on more than one person simultaneously, but he also was very lacking in half the equipment he usually had, like his web-shooters for instance. Oh well.</p><p>“Harley, are you good?” Peter shouted, backing away slowly, trying to put together a strategy to end this, and not get beat to a pulp. Phil was advancing dangerously. Peter heard Harley’s voice shout back.</p><p>“Yep, I’m just peachy. Never been better dude.”</p><p>Peter ignored the sarcasm and went back to planning.</p><p>“You look like a cornered dog, Peter. Was this really all worth it?” Phil asked coldly walking slowly towards Peter. The cold hands of fear were slowly reaching into Peter’s chest for the first time since he had been on the boat, but he tried to shake them off. He could handle this. He could.</p><p>Alexa started to get up from where Peter had pushed her, and she started advancing too.</p><p>“Honestly, Peter, you made this so much bigger than it had to be,” Alexa spat, wiping a bleeding scratch on her face. “If, you would have just shut up and done the job…” Alexa trailed off. Peter was just about done constructing his plan, hopefully, it would work.</p><p>Then everyone was frozen in their place at the sound of…a helicopter? No, it didn’t have the consistent <em>thwip</em> of a helicopter. That’s when Peter realized, far before Phil and Alexa did what that sound was, and what it meant. Peter grinned.</p><p>“Oh look, my reinforcements are here,” Peter said, cocky expression and attitude returning. Alexa looked back at Peter.</p><p>“What are you—”</p><p>Peter charged her while she was distracted, kicking out his foot as he went to trip Phil too. Phil teetered momentarily but got his balance back, meanwhile, it looked like Alexa had hit her head on the deck because she was rubbing the back of her head and was making no move to get up. Peter punched Phil in his side and kicked out his legs from under him. Phil stumbled to his knees and was about to get up, but something he was looking at behind Peter made him pause.</p><p>A loud thump and metallic clang on the deck sounded right behind Peter. Phil stared, looking dumbfounded, and Alexa had regained just enough composure to sit up and stare too.</p><p>To Phil’s and Alexa’s astonishment, standing on the boat, in all of his bright red and gold glory was Iron Man, or as Peter knew him, Tony.</p><p>Peter was relieved, to say the least, and it sounded like Harley was clapping in the water.</p><p>Tony raised his right gauntlet and pointed it at Phil and Alexa, and at Peter too because he was right in the line of fire. Peter sidestepped to get out of the way.</p><p>“Your heads bleeding, you good kid?” Tony asked. Peter turned towards Tony and touched the side of his head subconsciously.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m good, head wounds just bleed a lot,” Peter said, just like he had told Harley.</p><p>“Yeah, no way genius,” Tony said, irritated. “Maybe step away from the crazies, would ya?”</p><p>Peter obliged with absolutely no complaints, and he walked another three feet away.</p><p>“Um, is this a joke?” Alexa said, venom lacing her tone. She obviously was not taking the situation seriously and stood up quickly, getting ready to walk towards Peter again completely disregarding Tony, who she stupidly assumed to be some kind of a rip-off.</p><p>Tony powered up his blaster, the machinery making a charging noise.</p><p>“I don’t know, does this sound like a joke to you?” Tony asked coldly. Alexa froze. Phil still looked completely dumbfounded.</p><p>Peter used the time that Tony was taking to stare down Phil and Alexa to put down the boat ladder by the railing to get Harley back on board. He had drifted a little, but he was able to swim back to the ladder and pull himself up. He climbed up the slippery ladder, starting to shiver a little. Harley was sopping wet and dripping water where he stood.  Even if it was eighty-five degrees, soaked clothes were soaked clothes, and having water run down your back was cold.</p><p>“How did…why…how…” Phil stammered from across the deck.</p><p>“That information is need to know. And criminals don’t need to know.” Tony stated. “Over there.” Tony gestured for them to cross the deck, to where the boys had previously been tied up. Phil stood up, and the two complied, though Alexa was seething. Tony crossed the deck to stand in front of them. He glared at them through the Iron Man mask.</p><p>“You might want to sit down,” He said. They sat down on the floor of the boat.</p><p>Tony unceremoniously hit them both across the head with his now powered down gauntlet, using just enough force to knock them out. They both slumped backward.</p><p>Peter let out a breath and so did Harley, adrenaline dying down in both of them. Tony turned away from the now blacked-out criminals. He retracted his suit and stepped out.</p><p>“So, do either of you want to explain what the hell is going on here?” Tony asked, irritation and worry clear in his tone.</p><p>Both boys started talking at once. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>:) Sooo let me know your thoughts, I always love hearing them. As always, thank you all for your comments and kudos, they’re greatly appreciated! Hopefully, I’ll see you all in about a week.</p><p>Special thanks to KT and AyEmEm for helping me work out some details for this chapter, aaaand yeah. Have a good day, ciao!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi guys! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. This is my first time ever posting my work, so constructive criticism is always welcomed! The next chapter should be up in a couple of days. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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